Belize

Belize is closely associated with habanero and Scotch bonnet–type peppers, especially the famous Belizean yellow habanero, which underpins a small but notable pepper-sauce industry. Farmers grow Capsicum chinense across coastal and inland districts, supplying processors and export markets as well as local consumption.

Brands of habanero hot sauce are a major Belizean export and tourist purchase. In everyday food, habaneros and other hot peppers season rice and beans, stewed chicken, cohune cabbage, and seafood dishes like conch ceviche and fish escabeche.

Many households make their own onion–habano relishes: sliced onions, carrots, and habaneros in vinegar brine. Traditional Maya communities also cultivate local chilies similar to chiltepin and small wild annuum types, drying or roasting them for spice pastes. Pepper sauces range from pure habanero-vinegar recipes to fruit-based blends with mango or papaya. The combination of local chile varieties and commercial sauce-making makes Belize a recognized hot-sauce hub.