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Are Scotch Bonnets also Jamaican Chiles?

SibbysSauces

SibbysSauces

I've been buying these peppers for myself for a few months and the store I go to has always labeled them as "Jamaican Hot Peppers".  I recently came across a picture of a bunch of Scotch Bonnets that looked very similar to the Jamaican ones.  Wikipedia says Scotch Bonnets can also be grown in Jamaica.  Sooooooo.......  have I been using scotch bonnets without knowing they were scotch bonnets?  
 
Here's a picture of them 
 
jamaican.jpg
 
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These are indeed scotch bonnets
I'm also a little bit confused about those Jamaican whatever. some people call the Jamaican Mushroom as Jamaican Scotch Bonnet, or just Scotch Bonnet
 
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Here's a great link about Growing Scotch Bonnets in Jamaica, directly from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
http://rada.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/scotch-bonn-product.pdf

Scroll down to Chapter 10, and find the "Characteristics of a Grade "A" Scotch Bonnet Pepper"

-Characteristics of Grade "A" Scotch Bonnet pepper:
the classic Scotch Bonnet shape three to four lobes and the characteristic cup and saucer shape;
the peppers should be a minimum of 3.5 cm or (11/2 in.) wide;
the length of the pedicel (fruit stalk) should be no more than 3cm (11/4 in.);
the skin should be completely free from spots, bruises or decay
; and
finally, but very importantly, there should be no harmful
chemical residue on the fruit.

That's straight from the horse's mouth at the M.o.A. ;)

A "true" Bonnet should look very similar to this:
IMG_4609.JPG

IMG_4610.JPG


I grew these in 2015, from seed from Cross Country Nurseries
 
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SibbysSauces said:
I've been buying these peppers for myself for a few months and the store I go to has always labeled them as "Jamaican Hot Peppers".  I recently came across a picture of a bunch of Scotch Bonnets that looked very similar to the Jamaican ones.  Wikipedia says Scotch Bonnets can also be grown in Jamaica.  Sooooooo.......  have I been using scotch bonnets without knowing they were scotch bonnets?
Click to expand...
Pg 131 of Jean Andrews Classic Pepper Book discusses this phenomenon.
 
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Paul unfortunately page 131 can't be seen in the link ... I will just have to buy the book

The Scotch Bonnet name can be found in most of the Carribean Islands but are they truely Scotch Bonnets. The Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) decided that the true shape as shown in Mikes thread above had been lost and many different shapes were being grown by local farmers for the community and export. The MoA developed seed for the local farmers only which was not for resale. A forum member Steve Queen from Fort Lauderdale contacted, negotiated and finally obtained some seed from MoA he and his friends KD and Jamison grew on the early plants ensuring seed to this day. Heat and humidity do help in creating the perfect shape and it is something that some countries can't compete with. If I remember Jaunitos recently wrote to them and secured more true seed.

Other true shaped bonnets remain in contention with the MoA - Allen Boatman TJSB ( True Jamaican Scotch Bonnet ), Foodarama Yellow sourced by Beth Boyd and her own Scotch Bonnet are good examples ... are they the same well that discussion is for another time

In the promotion thread see this season's challenge by the British grower Dennish - Largest MoA

Don't be put of by shape it's what's inside that counts the distinct fruity taste/floral smell makes this variety well worth having in your grow. More than happy to send you a mix of bonnet seed later in the season
 
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Trident chilli said:
.....


Don't be put of by shape it's what's inside that counts the distinct fruity taste/floral smell makes this variety well worth having in your grow. More than happy to send you a mix of bonnet seed later in the season
Click to expand...
 
I agree with this 100%. You'll know a real Bonnet from the flavor, although proper shapes/colors from the phenos are desirable and most often good indicators of what the pod will taste like, but the proof is from the flavor.  I feel pretty strongly about this b/c the same plant will sometimes throw different phenos but the taste is the same on a true Bonnet.  It was Trident Chilli who first pointed out that a lot of US growers get nicer-shaped pods than he does, and speculated that it´s to do with temperature and humidity.  My own experience was that i was getting the most classically Bonnet-shaped pods in the dawg days of New Jersey summers, when temps and humidity were high, but precipitation has very low.  The same plats were less likely to throw only pods with the same ¨waistline¨ when conditions strayed to far...
 
But, regardless of saggy, baggy phenos, the flavor was right there, every time.
 
My best advice to anyone genuinely interested in Bonnets would be to get some legit pods with the right shape/color, maybe even some sort of BS ¨pedigree,¨ and dig into the olfactory characteristics of the pod.  Cut it open, sniff it, take a tiny bite and really savor it.  Eat an entire raw pod.  Use the rest to make a killer sauce and some Jerk chicken.....  At this point, you´ll be well acquainted with these goofy little chiles, and you´ll be perfectly qualified to ID any Bonnets by taste alone.  Once you get a taste of that rad, rad flavor, you´ll never mistake any superficially similar chinense for a Bonnet again.
 
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