Scotch bonnet Fresh, ripe Scotch bonnets can change from green to yellow to scarlet red; however, other varieties of this pepper can ripen to orange, yellow, peach, or even a chocolate brown. Scotch bonnet Scotch bonnet, also known as bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers, is a variety of chili pepper named for its resemblance to a tam o' shanter hat. It is native to the Caribbean islands and Central America. Most Scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 80,000–400,000 Scoville units. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale. However, completely sweet
Scoville scale mouth heat receptors, which vary widely among people. Another weakness is sensory fatigue; the palate is quickly desensitized to capsaicinoids after tasting a few samples within a short time period. Results vary widely (up to ± 50%) between laboratories. Since the 1980s, spice heat has been assessed quantitatively by HPLC, which measures the concentration of heat-producing capsaicinoids, typically with capsaicin content as the main measure. As stated in one review: "the most reliable, rapid, and efficient method to identify and quantify capsaicinoids is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); the results of which can be converted to Scoville Heat Units by multiplying