What is "scotch bonnet"

n. A variety of hot chilli pepper (a cultivar of ''Capsicum chinense'')

Scotch bonnet, also known as scotty bons, bonney peppers or Caribbean red peppers is a variety of chili pepper. It is named for its resemblance to a tam o' shanter hat. Also called 'Ata rodo' by Yoruba natives of Nigeria and "Kpakpo shitto" by natives of Accra, Ghana. Found mainly in the Caribbean islands, it is also in Guyana (where it is called the ball-of-fire pepper), the Maldives Islands (where it is called mirus), Panama (Where it is called "Aji Chombo") and West Africa. Most Scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville units. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale. However there are completely sweet varieties of Scotch bonnet grown on some of the Caribbean islands, called cachucha peppers.

These peppers are used to flavour many different dishes and cuisines worldwide and are often used in hot sauces and condiments. The Scotch bonnet has a sweeter flavour and stouter shape, distinct from its habanero cousin with which it is often confused, and gives jerk dishes (pork/chicken) and other Caribbean dishes their unique flavour. Scotch bonnets are mostly used in West African, Antiguan, Kittitian, Anguilan, Dominican, St. Lucian and St Vincentian, Grenadian, Trinidadian, Jamaican, Barbadian, Guyanese, Surinamese, Haitian and Cayman cuisine and pepper sauces, though they often show up in other Caribbean recipes. It's also used in other countries like Costa Rica and Panama for caribbean-styled recipes such as "Rice and Peas", "Rondon", "Saus", "Beef Patties" and also "Ceviches".

Fresh, ripe scotch bonnets change from green to colours ranging from yellow to scarlet red.

bonnet peppers in a Caribbean market Scotch Bonnet.jpg|A single ripe Scotch bonnet pepper

The Scotch bonnet, scientific name Semicassis granulata, is a medium-sized to large species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Cassinae, the helmet shells and bonnet shells. The common name "Scotch bonnet" alludes to the general outline and color of the shell, which vaguely resemble a tam o' shanter, a traditional Scottish bonnet or cap. The shell is egg-shaped and fairly large, in maximum dimension, with a regular pattern of yellow, orange or brown squarish spots. The surface sculpture of the shell is highly variable: the surface can be smooth and polished, have grooves, be granulated, or even be nodulose on the shoulder of the whorls.

This species lives intertidally and subtidally on sandy substrates, and is found primarily in the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina to Uruguay. It is the most common species in this subfamily in North America. A similar-appearing sea snail in the Mediterranean Sea and Northern Atlantic Ocean, Semicassis granulata undulata, is currently considered to be a subspecies. The exact taxonomy of this species has been unclear in the past: as well as the current combination Semicassis granulata, 38 other combinations and synonyms exist.

In the spring, the adult females of this species lay eggs in tower-shaped structures. The eggs hatch as veliger larvae, which can float in the plankton for up to 14 weeks before settling onto the seabed as tiny snails. Crabs are a predator of this sea snail. After the death of the snails, if the shells are still intact they are often used by hermit crabs.

In 1965, in the US, the Scotch Bonnet shell was named as a state symbol of North Carolina, the first designation of a US state shell.

Scotch bonnet may refer to:

• Scotch bonnet (mushroom), a mushroom also known as the fairy ring mushroom
• Scotch bonnet (pepper), an exceptionally hot chili pepper
• Scotch bonnet (sea snail), a sea snail and the official state shell of North Carolina