I do not remember when my love of hot peppers started. It was not in the summer of 1990 when my Uncle Danny let me eat a ripe habanero pepper from his deck in Sacramento. It was not in the spring of 2002 when the United States Army introduced me to Oleoresin Capsicum spray as a young Military Police Soldier. Maybe it was always in there, waiting for me to notice it.
I have since sent my palate around the world seeking the challenge of hot peppers. It’s about more than the heat, (anyone can jam a batch of pepper extract into a dish and ruin it), it’s about the flavor, the rush, the victories, and the defeats. If a food cannot defend itself, is it even worth the trouble of eating it? I’m not crying… this is living!
When I found out that my college had a study abroad program that could take me to the tiny Caribbean island of Trinidad, I was thrilled! Trinidad is home to two of the hottest peppers on the planet; the dreaded scorpion peppers! And lucky me, I was going to go right to the source.
After wrapping up the preparatory term, I was all set to tackle the Butch-T (Capsicum chinense) and Moruga (Capsicum chinense) scorpions. But, alas, the world cares not for the whims of one person a quarter of a globe away. Instead, unrest on the island would lead to a series of events that would see my classmates and I pivoting to the island of Jamaica instead.
Jamaica may not be home to the hottest peppers this of world can throw at you, but what it lacks in pain, it more than makes up for in culinary culture. You see, when your famous hometown hero is the Scotch Bonnet (Capsicum chinense) pepper, you can do a whole lot more with something that is a whole lot more forgiving – Jerk!
Jerk, know around the world as a heavy hitter in Jamaica’s food identity, has the Scotch Bonnet front and center as the star of the show. It’s bright color, it’s sweet, fruity taste, and its ubiquity make it a staple of the island’s diet. If I’m being completely honest, I’m looking forward to my time with this delightful little fellow much more than sitting with a belly full of scorpions…
Although it is a subtropical treat, the Scotch Bonnet is a scrappy little pepper in the hot sauce scene. Beyond its inclusion in the obvious jerk sauces and rubs, the Scotch Bonnet makes a fine addition to mustard to add some heat without defaulting to horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), and is a middle-to-upper level contender as a stand alone pepper sauce. In fact, if you’re ever in my neck of the woods, I highly recommend this local sauce as an entry point into Scotch Bonnet mustards. Your taste buds and your burger or brat will thank you for it.