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chinense Market Scotch Bonnets

caroltlw

caroltlw

I was surprised to see some Scotch Bonnets at the grocery store today. They were in bad shape from sitting a long time - I don't think they're selling well. They were labeled as 'product of USA' and I guess they're farias?
I picked through the truly disgusting ones and came up with 4 that weren't too far gone. I took a little taste of the best one and saved what seeds looked promising.
Total cost: $0.31

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c.
 
Those are the best ones eh? That's too bad.

I've never seen a scotch bonnet except in photos. Are you sure these are? They look like an ordinary red hab to me.

Glad you were able to save some seeds Carol. Hard to beat that cost too.
 
They're definitely not hab flavored. They do look like the "Tobago Scotch Bonnets". They taste red-sweet like a bell or jalapeno but have some heat to them. I only had a small bite of the skin since the rest of them looked pretty far past their expiration date.

And yeah, I can't get seeds for much cheaper than that. I lost track of the price of postage sometime last year.
 
Thanks Carol. Hope it didn't sound like I was questioning you. I'm relatively new at the pepper game beyond orange habs.

I hear you on the price of a stamp lately.
 
They didn't look very bonnet-like to me either. I usually think of the Jamaican shaped ones when I hear 'scotch bonnet'. No telling if they'll breed true or not... I can't imagine they grow very many of these for sale around here and they might be crossed with something else in the next row over. I have to give them a try though.
 
Nice to see somethin different at the store anyway. Selection around town here seems like it has actually diminished over the past few years rather than grown.
 
Very informative Potawie.

To minimize rotting, Scotch bonnet is picked early in the morning or late afternoon when it is cooler. Farmers also avoid picking the fruit when it is raining in order to reduce the likelihood of spoilage. Although it is best to harvest the fruit under the above conditions, under the right circumstances they can remain intact up to five days after picking.
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I guess they're way more sensitive than your typical store bought pepper. Although... I've seen some incredibly nasty looking jalapenos or even bell and banana peppers at the store. I'm getting more picky since i have access to fresh ones.


It's a shame the demand for the peppers has grown faster than the ability to produce them and maintain a quality seed stock. But the Tobago ones are an entirely different cultivar, aren't they?
 
Hey Carol, those look very similar to these guys I was getting at the local grocery store for a very short while. The flavor sounds spot on to what you described. A shame you couldn't get into the hotter parts of these, because the ones I had lit me up. They made a divine ginger-garlic-mango hot sauce that has absolutely disappeared around the workplace here. Good thing I kept a private stash at home! Now, if I could just remember how the hell I made the stuff...



Cigarettes were just for scale. The smaller pods looked very similar to yours, but these larger ones look a little different. This pic is a few weeks old
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Carol, I think its like us calling most chinenses habaneros, but in the Caribbean they call them all called Scotch bonnets or Congos. The Faria is likely not a true SB but some sort of relative.
Its also apparently quite difficult to find red SB's with a good tam or bonnet shape, I know I've been looking and I think Cmpman too. It seems the nicer shaped ones are usually C. annuum imposters
 
FiveStar said:
Now, if I could just remember how the hell I made the stuff...
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Darn. I had some scotch bonnet and hab based sauce that came from a friend's vacation in St. Lucia last year. Don't remember the name but it sure was delicious. It had chunks of red pepper in it but I don't know which exact bonnets they were.

POTAWIE said:
Carol, I think its like us calling most chinenses habaneros, but in the Caribbean they call them all called Scotch bonnets or Congos. The Faria is likely not a true SB but some sort of relative.
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I think I'll just refer to them as Farias from now on then. I'll see if these seeds grow for me next year and maybe get to taste some fresh ones.
 
I personally wouldn't call them Farias unless you know thats what they are for sure, this seems to always lead to confusion . I've grown many chinenses that look very similar but it does look like a Caribbean type.
 
Well, they were labeled "scotch bonnets" at the store but it seems like that's even more confusing and I realize they could easily have been mislabeled. How about I call them Potential Farias for now and we'll see if they even breed true for me next year. I've been looking around for more info about them but it looks like the best is right here on THP. The pic at chileman has those deep vertical grooves though.

I'm waiting and see how this years pods turn out for the other THP members.


[edit]
I think I'll go back to the store and see if 1. they have any fresher ones so I can give them a better taste. and 2. to double-check the labeling. I could have sworn it said 'grown in USA' so that right there means they might not be of the purest pedigree.

Oh, found another thread about them, and another.
 
It looks like the martinique or the Aji dulce#2 I grew last year with distinctive lobes, but I wouldn't just guess and call it that. We've discussed US store bought bonnets before and a lot of the time they aren't really bonnets and likely hybrids
 
Yeah, on the one hand the hybridizing thing sounds fun and cool but OTOH it makes finding pure specimens and seed a lot more difficult.
 
I buy ones like that all the time from the Indian stores over here but I never assume they're Scotch Bonnets, yet they always label them like that and they do taste like them (very fruity and perfumed, but different from a Hab). The latest ones I bought from a supermarket had a better shape. In the stores where the chillis are that ripe I usually ask if they have any others in their storeroom- as they're newer and kept cool.

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Scotch bonnets are alvays chinense, but chinense aren't always scotch bonnets. :lol:

I have a couple of plants from seeds I got from a seed trading parcel - can't wait to see what they are. I said this before and I say it again - if I could buy the chiles many of you guys&gals can I would't bother growing them. I was born in the wrong part of the world...
 
Rainbowberry has access to a better selection than I do! I don't remember ever seeing SBs at the store before. I always go check the produce section when I go somewhere new ... just in case I find a score. There are usually bell, banana, jalapenos, serranos, orange habs in season some places and that's about it for fresh. The Mexican store and Wal Mart will have various dried chiles, either packaged or in bins. Ancho, numex, chipotle, deArbol etc.
 
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