The datil is a very hot, sweet-fruity Capsicum chinense chilli grown for generations in St Augustine, Florida, where it seasons Minorcan clam chowder, pilau, hot sauces and datil jelly.
What it is¶
The datil is a Capsicum chinense chilli, the species of the habanero and Scotch bonnet, grown for generations in and around St Augustine, on Florida's northeast coast. The pods are 3–8 cm long, elongated and slightly wrinkled, ripening from green to a golden yellow-orange. The name is Spanish (and Catalan) for "date", perhaps for the pod's shape and colour.
It is very hot, around 100,000–300,000 SHU, comparable to a habanero, but cooks who use both describe the datil as sweeter and fruitier, with less of the musky, floral note of the habanero. It is barely grown commercially beyond northeast Florida, and much of the crop comes from gardens and small farms; St Augustine households have traditionally grown their own.
Origins and history¶
How the datil reached St Augustine is disputed. Local tradition credits the Minorcans: in 1768 the Scottish entrepreneur Andrew Turnbull brought some 1,400 settlers, many from the Balearic island of Menorca along with Greeks and Italians, to work an indigo plantation at New Smyrna. Conditions were brutal, and in 1777 the survivors fled north to St Augustine, where their descendants remain a distinct community. The story is that they brought the pepper with them, though C. chinense is a tropical American species and there is no evidence of it on Menorca. Another account has the datil arriving in the late nineteenth century from the Caribbean or Latin America. Neither version is firmly documented.
What is certain is that by the twentieth century the datil was part of St Augustine's identity, cooked in Minorcan dishes and sold in local sauces and jellies, and local festivals now celebrate it.
Flavour and aroma¶
A ripe datil smells and tastes of tropical fruit and sweetness first, then brings an intense heat that builds over several seconds and lingers, much like a habanero. The sweetness is its distinction, and it carries through into sauces and jellies. Cooked gently in a soup or stew, a datil gives fragrance and heat; raw and chopped, it is fierce.
In the kitchen¶
Datil cooking is the cooking of St Augustine's Minorcan community, and most dishes use the pepper sparingly.
- Minorcan clam chowder: a tomato-based chowder with clams, potatoes, onion, celery, green pepper, thyme and datil pepper, quite different from creamy New England chowder.
- Pilau (locally perloo or perlo): rice cooked with chicken, shrimp or sausage, tomato and datil.
- Datil pepper sauce: blended with vinegar, tomato or fruit, and sugar; sweet, hot and a little tangy. See hot sauce.
- Datil jelly and relish: a sweet-hot pepper jelly served with cream cheese and crackers, or with pork and chicken.
- Seafood: with fried shrimp, fish and gator; in marinades and dipping sauces.
As a guide, one datil, deseeded, is plenty for a pot of chowder for six.
⚠️ Treat it like a habanero
Wear gloves when cutting datils and keep hands away from eyes. The sweet smell is deceptive. See handling chillies safely.
Buying and storing¶
Fresh datils are hard to find outside northeast Florida; most cooks elsewhere grow their own or buy sauces and dried powder. Fresh pods keep one to two weeks in the fridge and freeze well whole, to be grated into dishes from frozen. They make an excellent fermented mash (see fermenting chillies). Dried datil and powder keep for a year airtight but lose much of the fruit.
Substitutes¶
- Habanero: very close in heat, a little less sweet; yellow or orange habaneros are the best match.
- Scotch bonnet: similar heat and fruity sweetness.
- Other yellow C. chinense chillies such as fatalii or madame jeanette.
- For the flavour with far less heat, ají dulce with a pinch of cayenne.
Pairs well with¶
Clams, shrimp, fish, chicken, pork, tomato, onion, celery, thyme, bay leaf, rice, vinegar, sugar, orange, pineapple and cream cheese.
Growing your own¶
Datils are grown like habaneros and need heat and a long season. Sow indoors in January–February at 25–30°C; germination is slow, often two to four weeks. In Britain grow in a warm greenhouse, polytunnel or conservatory; outdoors the summer is too short and cool. Plants reach 60–120 cm and appreciate even watering and tomato feed once flowering. Fruit ripens slowly to golden yellow-orange from late summer. Plants are perennial and crop earlier after overwintering frost-free. See growing chillies and overwintering chillies.