Montserrat

Montserrat’s hot-pepper scene is largely smallholder and backyard-based, centred on Caribbean Capsicum chinense types like Scotch bonnet and other “country hot” peppers. These are sold fresh in local markets and turned into homemade pepper sauces and chutneys, sometimes blended with tropical fruits like mango.

Peppers primarily move informally between neighbors and nearby islands rather than as formal exports. In the kitchen, Scotch bonnet–style peppers build the heat in goat water (the national goat stew), fish broths, stewed chicken, and rice-and-peas, as well as in marinades for grilled meats. Imported sauces and dried flakes fill gaps, but Montserratians tend to prefer their own intensely fruity, aromatic local chilies, which define the island’s British–Caribbean comfort food.