Hot Peppers in the Caribbean Kitchen

Hot Pepper is more than a staple in Caribbean cuisine, it is a culture. Hot peppers are used with heavy application in Caribbean foods. From the Jamaican jerks to the curries and the brown stews. Hot pepper sauce can be found as a condiment in every household, restaurant, and street food vendor across the islands. It is part of the Island life but there is more history to the hot peppers than one might think.

Scotch Bonnet pepper is the main pepper used in Caribbean seasonings and hot sauces. The pepper can easily be identified by its distinct shape, a squat, plump, nubbly pepper that resemblance to the Scottish hat, the tam o’shanter. The Scotch bonnet boosts 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale but islanders will tell you that the heat is nothing but flavor.

The fiery pepper’s origins can be traced to the lowland jungles of the western Amazon basin in what is now called Brazil. Scotch bonnets have a sweet profile, making them ideal as a base for Caribbean dishes like a jerk, soups, curries, barbeques, stews, and green seasonings. 

The name of the pepper varies per island with names like Bahama mama, Martinique pepper, Jamaican hot pepper, and St. Lucia’s French Creole name “piman majak”. The Scotch bonnet pepper is usually red or yellow at maturity. There are other varieties that ripen to orange, peach, and chocolate brown. 

But what if I told you that this was not the only hot pepper used in Caribbean cuisine? Let’s explore the parts unknown!

The Bird Pepper, a unicorn in the wild. This pepper is not commonly planted, it grows in the wild, planted by birds dropping and hurricanes. Islanders who have seen the pepper would say that the pepper grows spontaneously, seeming to arrive from nowhere. Like a nomad, choosing a yard or garden to grow and bear its fruit then suddenly disappearing again. The appearance of the mature peppers is unusual with the peppers growing to about one inch in length then ripening to a bright red or orange. The flesh is smooth and the pepper cone-shaped. Even more unusual is that the pepper grows upwards facing the heavens.

Bird Pepper makes an ultimately delectable hot sauce. The kind that will make you sweat from your scalp. A food technique slowly dying out in Caribbean cuisine with more commercial brands taking over. The bird pepper is recognized in the French Caribbean islands as a symbol of mischief in Voodoo practices. Today, the pepper is a rare sight and a good source of vitamins A and C, and a host of other compounds thought to prevent cancer and tumor.

Cayenne pepper is another hot pepper used abundantly in Caribbean kitchens. It is said to have originated in Cayenne, French Guiana, a French Caribbean territory bordering Guyana in South America. The pepper is processed into a very pungent, sour flavored spice of the same name. The spice is produced by drying and grinding the orange to deep-red pepper fruits. Commonly, it can be found in its powder form at all local Caribbean vendors’ markets. Cayenne pepper is sprinkled into brown stew meats, soups, and sauces for a little kick of exciting heat. 

In the Caribbean, Cayenne pepper is applied in local medicines as it is believed to aid with blood circulation and carry anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing properties. Hot water is poured over the spice to make a tea that is sweetened with brown sugar or honey. The pepper spice is also bravely applied to cuts and wounds to stop bleeding and relieve pain. 

Traditionally, all these Caribbean peppers are used to make hot sauce and Jirie Caribbean will dish out the secret recipe to the sweet and tangy profiles of a good Caribbean hot sauce. You can adjust the heat level to your preference. This hot sauce is versatile and can be included in your stews, saute, soups, and sauces for that touch of Caribbean flair.

Now let’s make things hot, hot, hot with Jirie Caribbean Chicken Seasoning!