Datil Pepper? What’s A Datil Pepper?
Never heard of a datil pepper? Well you are not alone. I grew up in Florida, but did not know about the datil myself until I was grown and started vacationing at St Augustine’s beautiful beach every summer. St Augustine, the nation’s oldest city is home to this unique species of pepper plants. We joined the multitude of tourists who “discovered” the datil pepper and took it home with us. Local restaurants use it in recipes like Minorcan clam chowder, and as a sauce on fish and seafood. Farmer’s market vendors sell small plants and their own versions of datil sauces. And there is an annual Datil Pepper Festival with a Datil Cook-off.
St Augustine is all about the datil. But people outside of the area have never heard of the datil pepper. My goal is to change that. I want to educate America about the datil pepper one customer at a time while using only the finest quality, all-natural ingredients. I want everyone to be as excited about the datil pepper as I am!
What Does A Datil Pepper Taste Like?
Datils are not like any other pepper you have ever tasted. These golden yellow gems have been described as a cross between the sweet, slightly fruity flavor of a bell pepper and the heat of a habanero. It comes in at around 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville heat scale or Scoville Heat Units (SHU). As a comparison, the Carolina reaper and ghost pepper typically are much hotter and are in the 855,000–2,480,000 SHU range. Banana peppers and jalapeno peppers are from 3,500–10,000 SHU, Cubanelle peppers fall between 100–1,000 SHU, and the sweet bell pepper registers a 0 on the Scoville heat scale.
Where in the world did the Datil Pepper come from?
The origin of the datil pepper is unknown. Numerous theories and legends abound, but the most common focuses on a group of people known as the Minorcans who brought the seeds to Florida in 1763 from Menorca in the Balaeric Islands off the coast of Spain.
In 1763, Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish physician received a land grant to colonize what was then British East Florida. He recruited people from Italy, Corsica, Greece, and Menorca. These colonists, as indentured servants, arrived in New Smyrna, Florida, and were contracted for nine years to provide labor on Dr. Turnbull’s indigo plantation. In exchange, at the end of the nine years, they were to be granted their freedom and their own parcel of land.
Conditions were hard. In addition to being beaten and treated poorly by Dr. Turnbull and his overseers, food and resources were scarce and malaria and other illnesses killed off many of the settlers. Dr. Turnbull reneged on the contracts and many of the settlers revolted. They walked over 70 miles north to St. Augustine, and were freed by Governor Tonyn in 1777. The Minorcans, as the colonists called themselves collectively at that time, settled in St. Augustine and began to farm their own small plots of land, growing among other things, datil peppers from seeds they lovingly carried with them. Many proud descendants of those original Minorcan settlers live in St Augustine and the surrounding area to this day.
Datil peppers resemble the fatali pepper from Africa, so another legend is that they were brought into St Augustine by slave traders. The fatali pepper is believed to originate in the Central African Republic, and is widely used in African cooking.
The Complete Chili Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland, suggests that the datil pepper was introduced to St. Augustine in 1880 by S.B. Valls, a jelly maker from Cuba. This is a beautiful book, full of incredible color photographs, and information on what they describe as the “top 100” chili peppers which can be grown in a home garden.
Although there are other accounts of how the datil pepper made its way to North East Florida, no definitive origin has been discovered. Regardless of where it came from, Minorcans and the city of St. Augustine embrace the datil as their own treasured pepper. Its fiery flavor is so special that local families hand down their treasured recipes for datil pepper hot sauce from one generation to another.
OSA Gourmet Datil Pepper Hot Sauces
OSA Gourmet Datil Pepper Hot Sauces are amazing! We use only the ripest golden datil peppers, and only the finest quality, fresh ingredients with no additives or preservatives. Both our original Snake Bite and new Venom hot sauce are the perfect addition to any table. They are so versatile, you can use them on practically everything.
Snake Bite
Snake Bite Datil Pepper Hot Sauce brings a medium level of heat. Snake Bite Datil Pepper Hot Sauce is a two-time International Flavor Award winner! It adds a kick of datil pepper heat to eggs, soups and stews, meats, sandwiches, and just about any savory food. If you like your hot sauce in the medium heat range, this is definitely the one for you. Put some real Bite in your life!
Venom
Venom Datil Pepper Hot Sauce is for the chili-heads out there who want even more fiery heat, and that spicy-hot datil pepper taste. Venom Datil Pepper Hot Sauce has won the prestigious Scovie Award as well as the International Flavor Award. Venom was just added in response to the numerous requests we received from customers who wanted to kick it up a notch. You spoke, and we listened. Venom is definitely here to stay. Hot, but not over the top, I have a son that can practically drink the stuff out of the bottle. If you are looking for a blast of datil pepper heat, you need some Venom in your life.
Looking for delicious recipes using Datil Pepper hot sauce?
Here are two of my personal favorite appetizers. They are both easy to make and crowd-pleasing. You can adjust the heat by decreasing or increasing the amount of hot sauce you add. Datil peppers will add a new taste sensation to anything you make.
Snake Bite Blazing Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese salad dressing
- 1/2 cup
Snake Bite or Venom Datil Pepper Hot Sauce</a - 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (Or you may substitute Colby, Colby Jack or make the cheddar a full cup instead of just 1/2 cup.
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 1/4 cup diced celery (optional)
- 2 cups cooked chicken, pulled apart with forks, approximately 2 chicken breast halves (If you absolutely must, you can substitute 2 (9.75 oz) cans chicken in water, well drained.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 1 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
Blend together the cream cheese, salad dressing, Snake Bite or VenomDatil Pepper Hot Sauce, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, scallions and celery. - Add pulled chicken to this mixture and blend completely.
- Place into your prepared baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, 20–25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve with chips, vegetables or crackers as desired.
Notes
Snake Bite Spicy Spinach and Artichoke Cups
Ingredients
- 35-40 won ton wrappers
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (squeeze as much liquid out as possible)
- 1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
Snake Bite or Venom Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, depending on the heat level you want
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
- Gently place one won ton wrapper in each muffin cup.
- Bake 7–8 minutes until light golden brown.
- Let cool and gently remove from the muffin tins.
- Repeat with the remaining won ton wrappers until all are baked.
- (At this point, the won ton cups can be stored in an airtight container for a few days if you want to make these ahead of time.)
Mix cream cheese, spinach, artichokes, shredded cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, pepper and Old St Augustine Snake Bite orVenom Datil Pepper Hot Sauce in mixing bowl. - With a small spoon, fill each cup with the spinach and artichoke mixture.
- Place filled won ton cups on a baking pan and bake for 6–8 minutes, until filling is heated through. (Note: These do not heat well in the microwave.)
