YOU SPICE UP MY LIFE!

UPDATE: I now have a chocolate habanero plant and I must admit that it is very very HOT!

NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP!

My recent Lenten sacrifice had me thinking about the things that I would and would not give up for any period of time. I mentioned chocolate in my previous post, the other would be hot peppers, raw, not processed, just sliced and devoured. At least 1-2 fruits a day, on everything. Yes, I love my peppers and Scotch Bonnets are my favorites.

We had one plant that perished in the cold spell, so for a few months we have been searching.A few days ago, the hubster (HB) called me excited "I found a scotch bonnet plant, the person says I must come and get it now because it is the last one he has left". Knowing HB he must get that last one, and he did. He arrived home holding it up like a trophy he had just won. Proud and happy. Eager to plant. While we were picking the fruit we noticed the nursery label, a place not far away, I googled, emailed and called and they had 11 plants "we must get 5" the hubster said, and as it is said, so it was done. We have 5 beautiful plants.

One may say my relationship with peppers is genetic, from my East Indian heritage. At 14 a Doctor told me I would have to stop eating peppers because I had developed a peptic ulcer. Looking back now I think that was the reason I did not do well in the CXCs, I was miserable :-). I don't know where the ulcer went but as soon as I felt better the peppers were back with a vengeance. I never could give it up.

The photos are of the Scotch Bonnet plants and fruits. Many people use the names Scotch Bonnet and Habanero interchangeably but a "pepper officianado" like me know that the SB is shorter, wider, hotter and has a lingering, almost sweet and aromatic flavor. Having the real thing is worth so much to me.

Thanks HB, that will do for Mother's Day!! By the way if anyone reading this would like to send me a ghost pepper plant aka Bhut Jolokia. You are welcome to.

FACTS ABOUT THE SCOTCH BONNET PEPPER

Found mainly in the Caribbean slands and also in Guyana, the Maldives Islands and West Africa
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. www.thechileman.org claims that it is native to the Caribbean
The Scotch Bonnet Chocolate (yum, yum), pictured to the right, is also known as the Jamaican Pepper- wow!!! 

Scoville scale

Scoville rating	Type of pepper
15,000,000-16,000,000	Pure capsaicin[5]
8,600,000-9,100,000	Various capsaicinoids (e.g. homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)
2,000,000-5,300,000	Standard U.S. Grade pepper spray[6], FN 303 irritant ammunition
855,000-1,050,000	Naga Jolokia[7][8][9][10]
350,000-580,000	Red Savina Habanero[11][12]
100,000-350,000	Habanero chili,[13] Scotch Bonnet Pepper, [13] Datil pepper, Rocoto, Jamaican Hot Pepper [6], African Birdseye
50,000-100,000	Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper, Pequin Pepper
30,000-50,000	Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper [13], Tabasco pepper, some Chipotle peppers
10,000-23,000	Serrano Pepper, some Chipotle peppers
2,500-8,000	Jalapeño Pepper, Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper,[14] Paprika (hungarian wax pepper)[15]
500-2,500	Anaheim pepper [16], Poblano Pepper, Rocotillo Pepper
100-500	Pimento[6], Pepperoncini
0	No heat, Bell pepper [6]

Sources 
1. Thechileman
2. WikiPedia
3. ChilePepper- Scoville Scale
4. PEPPER PLANTS from:  Hopkins Nursery  & Wonder Gardens Inc. FL