Estrek's Tribute to Chili Peppers - Scotch Bonnet Traditional Cache
estrek: This was never a good place.
Estrek's Tribute to Chili Peppers - Scotch Bonnet
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One in a series celebrating our favorite producers of endorphins,
and the man who measured them. The exact origins of the Habanero
are unknown, but some speculate it originated in South America and
migrated north to Mexico and the Caribbean via Colombia; an intact
fruit of a small domesticated habanero was found in Pre-ceramic
levels in Guitarrero Cave in the Peruvian highlands, and was dated
to 6500 B.C.
Scotch Bonnet peppers are a type of chili pepper that originated in
the islands of the Caribbean. They share species with the Habanero
pepper. With the shape of a plump teardrop, Scotch Bonnets mature
to about two inches in length. When ready for harvest, the peppers
are a hue of orange to scarlet red. Their flavor is similar to an
apricot with an intense amount of heat. On the Scoville heat scale,
Scotch Bonnet peppers rate 100,000-325,000 SHU or Scoville Heat
Units. The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat (or
piquance) of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units
indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical
compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin,
especially the mucous membranes. The scale is named after its
creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. His method, devised
in 1912, is known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test. In Scoville's
method, an alcohol extract of the capsaicin oil from a measured
amount of dried pepper is added incrementally to a solution of
sugar in water until the "heat" is just detectable by a panel of
(usually five) tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on
the Scoville scale. Thus a sweet pepper or a bell pepper,
containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero,
meaning no heat detectable. The hottest chilis, such as habaneros
and nagas, have a rating of 200,000 or more, indicating that their
extract must be diluted over 200,000 times before the capsaicin
presence is undetectable. All chilies found around the world today
have their origins in Central America and South America. Chilies
were spread by the Spanish and the Portuguese in their quest to
build a global empire and are still grown in their former colonies
in Africa and Asia. The chili varieties found in Southeast Asia
today were imported and cultivated by Spanish and the Portuguese
colonists and traders.
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