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Homemade Caribbean pepper sauce
Every Caribbean home has its own bottle of pepper sauce, and every family swears theirs is the best. This one is the simple, bright, vinegar-based kind made with scotch bonnet peppers. Here's the recipe, how hot it really is, and how to keep it safe in your fridge. From our African and Black-owned store in Chicago.
Table of Contents
How hot is scotch bonnet?
Very. Scotch bonnet is a Capsicum chinense pepper, the same species as habanero, and rates about 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville heat units (SHU).1 A jalapeño is about 2,500 to 8,000,2 and cayenne about 30,000 to 50,000.4 What makes scotch bonnet special is the taste under the heat: sweet and fruity, the flavour of jerk, pepper pot and Jamaican escovitch.1
Scotch bonnet pepper sauce recipe
Makes about 1½ cups
- 8 to 10 scotch bonnet peppers, stems off
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 small carrot (softens the heat)
- ¾ cup white vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground allspice (pimento)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard (optional)
Method
- Put on gloves. Roughly chop the peppers, onion, garlic and carrot.
- Blend everything with the vinegar, lime, salt and allspice until smooth.
- Pour into a small pot and simmer 10 minutes, stirring. Open a window; the steam is strong.
- Cool, then pour into a clean glass jar or bottle with a lid.
- Keep in the fridge. The taste gets better after a day.
What's in it
USDA lists fresh red hot chili peppers at about 40 calories and 144 mg of vitamin C per 100 g.5 A spoon of sauce holds only a few grams of pepper, so think of it as flavour, not a source of nutrients. This recipe has no oil or sugar. The salt is the part to watch: 1 teaspoon across the whole batch.
How to use pepper sauce
- On rice and peas or white rice: a few drops on the side of the plate.
- In soups and stews: stir a spoon into chicken soup, pepper pot or fish tea at the end.
- With fried fish and escovitch: the classic Jamaican pairing.
- On fried plantain, patties and dumplings: dip or drizzle.
- As a marinade starter: mix with lime, garlic and allspice for chicken or fish, or add it to our jerk chicken recipe.
Shop peppers and pepper sauces
Three styles to try
Bajan-style yellow
Add 2 tbsp yellow mustard and a pinch of turmeric for a golden, tangy sauce.
Mango pepper sauce
Blend in the flesh of 1 ripe mango. Sweet first, then the heat.
Bird pepper sauce
Use soaked dried bird peppers in place of half the scotch bonnets for a drier, sharper heat.
Prefer a Ghanaian-style oil-based pepper sauce with fish and shrimp? Read what shito is and how to eat it.
Handling and storing homemade pepper sauce
Vinegar makes pepper sauce acidic, which helps it keep. But a home kitchen can't test acidity the way bottling plants must under US rules for acidified foods, so treat homemade sauce as a fridge item.3 Use a clean jar, always a clean spoon, and make small batches you'll finish in a few weeks.
Pepper sauce around the Caribbean and Africa
Almost every island and many West African kitchens have their own version.
Pepper sauce FAQ
What is the difference between scotch bonnet and habanero?
They are the same species (Capsicum chinense) and similar in heat. Scotch bonnets are squat, like a little hat, and have a sweeter, fruitier taste that Caribbean cooks prefer.
How long does homemade pepper sauce last?
Keep it in a clean, closed jar in the fridge and use it within a few weeks. Throw it out if it smells off, bubbles or shows mould.
Can I make pepper sauce with dried peppers?
Yes. Soak dried bird peppers or chilies in hot vinegar for 20 minutes, then blend as in the recipe.
How do I make pepper sauce less hot?
Remove the seeds and white ribs, use fewer peppers, or add carrot, mango or papaya to the blender.
Can I use habanero instead of scotch bonnet?
Yes. Habanero is the same species and about as hot. The taste is a little less sweet, so add a piece of mango or carrot if you like it fruity.
Do I have to cook pepper sauce?
No. Many families just blend the peppers with vinegar and bottle it. A short simmer softens the raw taste and helps the flavours blend. Either way, keep it in the fridge.
Is shito the same as pepper sauce?
No. Shito is a Ghanaian black pepper sauce fried in oil with dried fish and shrimp. Caribbean pepper sauce is blended fresh peppers with vinegar.
Sources
- Wikipedia. Scotch bonnet.
- Wikipedia. Jalapeño.
- eCFR. 21 CFR Part 114, Acidified foods.
- Wikipedia. Cayenne pepper.
- USDA FoodData Central. Peppers, hot chili, red, raw (NDB 11819).