Sweet Bonnet
Also known as Sweet Bonnett · Sweet Bonnet Red
Sweet Bonnet is a Capsicum chinense cultivar from Caribbean, Jamaica. Capsi’s sourced range is 0–1,500 SHU (Vendor Claim). Flavor is sweet, tropical, smoky, fruity. Used for Seasoning pepper for mild Caribbean dishes, fresh salsa and salads, stuffed pods, and dried spice.. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
Sweet Bonnet is a mild Capsicum chinense grown for the squat Scotch Bonnet shape and Caribbean fruit flavor without the usual burn. Ripe pods are small, wrinkled, and red.
About 1/85 the typical heat of a Capsi Jalapeño (31,902 SHU).
Growing
~100 days to maturity
Fruit size
3–4.5 cm
Flavor & Use
Tropical-sweet flesh with the smoky opening of a hot bonnet and little or no linger of heat. Some fruit add a light floral or apple note.
Culinary
About
Pods take the flattened tam-o-shanter form of a Scotch Bonnet, about 3 to 4.5 cm across, and ripen from green through orange to red. Flesh is medium-thick with a wrinkled skin and a tropical-sweet taste that opens with a faint smoky note. Cooks use it as a seasoning pepper in mild jerk, curry, salsa, and salads, or dry it for powder. Plants are compact chinense bushes that need a long warm season and full sun.
Backstory
Caribbean kitchens have long used mild chinense peppers that look like Scotch Bonnets. Seed houses in the US and Europe sell this red, open-pollinated strain under the name Sweet Bonnet. It is listed as a garden type from the islands, not as a university release with a breeder and year.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreNothing reputable documents a pedigree for this pepper.
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Sweet Bonnet?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 0–1,500 SHU (Vendor Claim). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does Sweet Bonnet taste like?
- Tropical-sweet flesh with the smoky opening of a hot bonnet and little or no linger of heat. Some fruit add a light floral or apple note.
- How do I grow Sweet Bonnet?
- Sweet Bonnet: about 100 days to maturity, tropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Sweet Bonnet?
- Trinidad Perfume, Ají Dulce, Habanada Pepper