I’m not surprised it won.  Fountain of Youth Datil Pepper Marinade is like nothing else on the market.  How can you go wrong with Datil Peppers, and 6 different fruits, including raisins, mango, key lime, pineapple, orange, and grapefruit?  Add in some onion and garlic, and you have a marinade made in heaven.  Well maybe not heaven, but St. Augustine, Florida is pretty darn close.  Our historic city is home to the little yellow Minorcan Datil Pepper that adds a distinctive flavor to OSA Gourmet Foods. It’s all natural, with no preservatives or artificial flavors.   St. Augustine’s flavorful little Datil Pepper gives it a spicy kick, and it’s loaded with Fresh From Florida fruit for a hint of sweetness.  The acid in the fruit helps to tenderize the meat and balance its natural richness.  No high fructose corn syrup here or additives.  You don’t want any of that unwholesome stuff on your food, and neither do I.  No wonder it won silver at the World Hot Sauce Awards two years in a row and placed second at the International Flavor Awards last year.
Juan Ponce de Leon arrived at the Fountain of Youth in 1513
The plaque reads:  “The Fountain of Youth Park commemorates the 1513 arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in Florida and the legend of the Fountain of Youth. People have lived on this site for over 3,000 years, since the Archaic Period of Florida’s history.  In 1565 Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles established the first successful European colony in North America at St. Augustine and his first settlement was built here on the grounds of the Fountain of Youth Park. At that time it was part of the large Timucua town of Chief Seloy. After nine months, Timucua resistance forced the Spaniards to move the colony across the bay. In 1572 it was moved back to the mainland to its current location. In 1587 the first Franciscan mission to the American Indians was built here and named Nombre de Dios. The Mission remained here until the middle of the 17th century. Archaelogical excavations at the Founatin of Youth Park since 1934 have revealed the shell mounds of the Archaic inhabitants, part of Seloy’s town, remains of the Spanish colony and the church and cemetery of the Nombre de Dios mission.  There may be no other single property in Florida that contains such an array of important archaeological resources for our state’s early history.”

Named for the famous Fountain Of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida, Fountain of Youth Datil Marinade will give your food a full bodied richness that gives it new life.  It won’t make you any younger, but it makes your food happy.  And if your food is happy, you and your family will be as well.  And if you ever get to St. Augustine, be sure to visit the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.  It is a beautiful site full of history.  And hopefully the numerous peacocks that live on the grounds will serenade you with their cries as well as wow you with their glorious plumage!

OSA Gourmet was born out of my love for sharing fine foods with family and friends.  I’m happiest when my table is overflowing with delicious dishes and I’m surrounded by people I love.  My mother and grandmother were both gracious Southern ladies.  They went out of their way to share with others.  My grandmother Vickers was the epitome of Southern gentility.  Her table was always overflowing with food.  She fried chicken and fish at least once a week and I learned to eat lots, and I mean lots of veggies at her house.  She shelled butter beans and field peas, washed turnip and collard greens in a galvanized washtub on the back porch, canned fruits and tomatoes, and baked enough cakes and pies to feed an army.  And that was every week.  To say she loved to cook would be an understatement.  She loved everything about food, from the way it was grown or prepared, to seeing the delight in people’s eyes as they ate at her table. Grandmother’s deep Southern roots infused everything she did with love and graciousness.

My mamma was a self-taught cook.  I remember her pouring over her battered Betty Crocker, The Joy of Cooking and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks.  Daddy would always laugh and say he taught her how to scramble an egg.  And it was true.  Even mamma would laugh and recall how inept she felt in the kitchen as a young bride, and how sorry she was that she never spent any time in the kitchen with her mother, learning how to cook as a child.  How my daddy learned to cook eggs is beyond me, but he sure could make a mean scrambled egg sandwich!

Mamma was extremely creative, and she got to where she used recipes merely as a guideline.  She would look at the recipe and then change it up with whatever she had in the pantry, or whatever suited her fancy.  Measuring spices was only done when baking and needed to be exact.  Mamma was always asking me and my sister to help in the kitchen, and I’m thankful she shared her joy of cooking with me at an early age.  I learned to use a palm full of cumin in chili, and a pinch of nutmeg in a fruit salad.  In my eyes she was a magician in the kitchen, and a master at creating delicious meals.

In the South, Sunday chicken dinner was a way of life.  You went to church on Sunday morning, then had fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy for dinner.  Sunday dinner in the South was always the biggest meal of the day, and a special occasion.  The good china was lovingly placed on top of a lace tablecloth, candles were lit and we joined hands in a blessing.  It was a celebration of family and food.

I remember being fascinated as she took a whole chicken and cut it up into perfect legs, thighs, breasts, and what my sister and I called the “pulley bone.”  We would fight over who got that wishbone.  Even though there was very little meat, it was the prized piece of chicken.  There wasn’t much of a fight though, as we had to take turns, and mamma usually remembered which one of us had the “pulley bone” last time.  We delighted in taking hold of one end of the bone and pulling it apart to see who came out with the largest piece.  Of course, the winner would lord it over the sister who lost until the next chicken dinner.

Fountain of Youth Datil Pepper Marinade brings back those special memories.  Frying chicken doesn’t happen very often at my house any more unless it’s done outside over a propane burner in my grandmother’s huge cast iron skillet.  I bake, broil or grill everything now, and Fountain of Youth Marinade is perfect on any meat, poultry or fish.  It’s equally as good on vegetables, and makes a dynamite salad dressing for green salads.

Marinate mushrooms in  Fountain of Youth Datil Pepper Marinade for an easy healthy and delicious appetizer or snack.  Marinate ribs, chicken or steak.  Marinate shrimp.  Marinate tofu or tempeh.  Just remember that marinade does not penetrate all the way through most foods,  unless it is a soft porous vegetable like eggplant or squash.  Because it’s primarily on the outside, you might want to increase the surface area of your food by using smaller pieces or portions.  A huge slab of steak, for example, will not absorb as much marinade as several smaller steaks.  Marinade is perfect as a cooking liquid with tougher cuts of meat that require braising and longer cooking times to tenderize.

Fountain of Youth Datil Marinade adds life to boring gravies.  A tablespoonful or so will work wonders and your family and friends will want to know your secret.  It won’t make you any younger, sorry to say, but it will add new life and revive bland and ho hum dishes.  It’s not too spicy and not too sweet.  You can always take it up a notch by adding more heat if you wish.  This is the perfect time to add a dash of one of OSA Gourmet’s award winning Datil Pepper hot sauces like Snake Bite or Venom, or add a shake of Nuthin’ But Datil, pure ground datil pepper.  Add another layer of flavor with Sweet Heat Datil Pepper Bar-B-Que Sauce which won a first place at the  World Hot Sauce Awards in 2018.  You will be amazed at how upscale your dishes will taste.

Award winning Fountain Of Youth Datil Marinade is so versatile, you will use it all the time.

Fountain of Youth Datil Pepper Marinated Chicken with Spinach

Serves: 2

Prep time:  4 hours or more to allow time for marinating chicken (This is perfect to make the day before!)

Cook Time:  approximately 1 hour baking time

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Prep Time 4 hrs

Cook Time 1 hr

Cuisine Chicken & Poultry

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 cup sour cream (can use low-fat sour cream if you like)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons OSA Gourmet Fountain of Youth Datil Marinade
• 2 teaspoons Old St Augustine Seasoning Blend of choice, divided: Datil Zest Citrus Blend or Datil Jerk Jamaican Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (I used Ritz)
• 15 oz bag of fresh spinach, washed, dried and chopped if desired
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup butter, melted, divided

Instructions

 

• In a large shallow bowl or large zip top bag, combine sour cream, lemon juice, Fountain of Youth Datil Marinade, 1 teaspoon of the Old St Augustine Seasoning blend of your choice (Datil Zest or Datil Jerk) and black pepper.
• Add chicken and turn to coat well.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• While oven is heating, combine crackers and remaining OSA Gourmet Seasoning Blend (Datil Zest or Datil Jerk) in a large zip top bag or another bowl.
• Drain chicken, discarding marinade.
• Shake or dredge chicken in cracker crumb mixture.
• Place spinach on bottom of baking dish.
• Place cracker crumb topped chicken breasts on top of spinach.
• Drizzle top of chicken with half of the melted butter.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Drizzle with remaining butter; bake 30 minutes longer or until juices run clear and internal temperature of chicken reached 165 degrees.