Updated October 26, 2026 · By the Stanky Brothers
The datil pepper is a small, extra-hot chili (Capsicum chinense) best known in St. Augustine, Florida. It measures about 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Heat Units, roughly as hot as a habanero, but it tastes noticeably sweeter and fruitier. It's the pepper behind St. Augustine's Minorcan chowder, the city's famous datil sauce, and a whole shelf of local jellies, relishes and hot sauces.
This guide covers how hot datil peppers really are, what they taste like, where they came from, what "datil sauce" means, and how to cook with them.
In this guide: Quick facts · How hot is a datil pepper? · Flavor · Datil vs. habanero · History · What is datil sauce? · Cooking with datil · Datil sauces to try · FAQ
Datil pepper quick facts
| Species | Capsicum chinense (same species as the habanero and Scotch bonnet) |
| Heat | 100,000–300,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) |
| Compared to a jalapeño | At least a dozen times hotter |
| Flavor | Sweet, fruity and citrusy, with heat that builds slowly |
| Size and color | About ½ to 4 inches long; green when young, ripening to yellow-orange |
| Name | From the Spanish and Catalan word for "date," after the fruit's shape |
| Home | St. Augustine and St. Johns County, Florida, where it's the official county plant |
| Classic uses | Minorcan chowder, datil sauce, hot sauce, pepper jelly, relish, BBQ sauce |
What is a datil pepper?
The datil is a lantern-shaped chili that looks a lot like a slim habanero. It grows on bushy plants a couple of feet tall and ripens from green to a bright golden yellow-orange. Most datils you'll meet, fresh or bottled, are the ripe ones.
What makes it special isn't only the heat. It's the combination of serious spice with a natural sweetness that tastes almost tropical. That balance is why cooks around St. Augustine have built so many sauces around it.
How hot is a datil pepper? (Scoville rating)
Datil peppers measure 100,000 to 300,000 SHU, which puts them in the same heat class as habaneros. Like any chili, an individual pepper's heat depends on growing conditions, ripeness and how much of the seeds and white pith end up in the dish.
| Pepper | Scoville Heat Units |
|---|---|
| Jalapeño | 2,500–8,000 |
| Serrano | 10,000–25,000 |
| Cayenne | 30,000–50,000 |
| Datil | 100,000–300,000 |
| Habanero | 100,000–350,000 |
| Ghost pepper | Around 855,000–1,000,000+ |
| Carolina Reaper | Over 1,500,000 |
Many people find datil feels a little gentler than its numbers suggest, because the heat creeps up rather than hitting all at once. In a finished sauce, the pepper is blended with other ingredients, so a datil sauce can be far milder than a raw datil. Our Garlic Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, for example, rates 2 out of 5 on our Adventure Meter.
What does a datil pepper taste like?
Expect a sweet, fruity first impression, with notes people often compare to citrus and tropical fruit, followed by a warm burn that builds and lingers. Compared with many hot peppers, datil has less of a bitter or grassy edge, which is why it plays so well with:
- Garlic and onion for savory hot sauces
- Citrus like lime and orange
- Tomato and a little sweetness, as in St. Augustine-style datil sauce
- Seafood, especially shrimp, clams and fried fish
Datil pepper vs. habanero
The two are close cousins in the same species, and botanists think the datil may descend from habanero-type peppers. Here's how they compare in the kitchen:
| Datil | Habanero | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | 100,000–300,000 SHU | 100,000–350,000 SHU |
| Flavor | Sweeter and fruitier | Fruity, often sharper or more floral |
| Shape | Slimmer and more elongated | Rounder, lantern-shaped |
| Where you find it | Mostly Northeast Florida and specialty sellers | Grocery stores worldwide |
| Best for | Balanced sweet-heat sauces, chowder, seafood | Salsas, Caribbean and Mexican dishes, extra-hot sauces |
If a recipe calls for datil and you can't find it, a habanero or Scotch bonnet is the closest substitute. Add a touch of sweetness, like a little honey or orange, to get nearer the datil's flavor.
The history of the datil pepper in St. Augustine
The datil's exact origin is one of Florida's favorite food mysteries, and there are two main stories.
The Minorcan story. In 1768, hundreds of settlers from the Spanish island of Minorca arrived to work on an indigo plantation at New Smyrna. After years of hardship, the survivors made their way to St. Augustine in 1777, and local tradition holds that they brought datil seeds with them. Many St. Augustine families still trace their roots to those Minorcan settlers, and the datil is woven into their cooking, most famously in Minorcan clam chowder.
The Cuba story. Historians have also found that a St. Augustine jelly maker sent to Cuba for datil pepper seed around 1880. That would put the pepper's arrival roughly a century later, possibly by way of Caribbean trade.
Either way, the datil has been grown around St. Augustine for well over a hundred years. When botanist Jean Andrews formally described it as its own variety in 1990, she noted it had been cultivated in Florida for at least a century. Today St. Johns County celebrates it as its official plant, the first Saturday in October is Datil Pepper Day, and festivals in St. Augustine and nearby Palatka are built around it.
What is datil sauce?
"Datil sauce" can mean a few different things, depending on who's pouring:
- St. Augustine-style datil sauce: a sweet-and-spicy, often tomato-based sauce served alongside fried shrimp and seafood platters at local restaurants.
- Datil pepper hot sauce: a vinegar-based sauce where datil is the main pepper, used like any hot sauce.
- Datil BBQ sauce: datil heat blended into a barbecue base, often with citrus.
- Datil condiments: mustards, pepper jellies, relishes and salsas.
What they share is the datil's signature sweet heat, which lets sauce makers add real spice without the harsh bite of some other hot peppers.
How to cook with datil peppers
Fresh datils are extra-hot, so a little goes a long way.
- Wear gloves when cutting them, and keep your hands away from your eyes.
- Remove the seeds and white pith for a gentler pepper that keeps more of the fruity flavor.
- Start small. A single pepper can season a whole pot of chowder or chili.
- Pair them with seafood, citrus and garlic, the combinations St. Augustine settled on long ago.
- Use a datil sauce when you can't find fresh peppers. Fresh datils are hard to find outside Northeast Florida, so a good datil sauce is the easiest way to cook with the flavor.
Can you grow datil peppers?
Yes, if you have patience and warmth. Datil seeds germinate best in warm soil (around 75–80°F), and the plants can take about five months to produce ripe peppers. They need a long, warm, frost-free season, or a sunny spot indoors.
Datil pepper sauces to try
If you're in St. Augustine, the local shops and farmers markets are full of datil products and well worth the trip. Wherever you are, these are the two datil sauces we make at Stanky Sauce.
Garlic Datil Pepper Hot Sauce
Datil pepper, garlic, roasted garlic and lime in a savory, sugar-free hot sauce. Adventure Meter: 2 out of 5. Vegan, and a five-time award winner. Great on wings, eggs, tacos, pizza and grilled shrimp.
Florida Sunshine BBQ Sauce
A Florida-style BBQ sauce that leads with bright orange citrus, then finishes with a gentle datil kick and a touch of smoke. Adventure Meter: ½ out of 5. Winner of four first-place BBQ awards. Made for ribs, pulled pork, chicken and wings.
Want to try datil next to our other flavors? Garlic Datil comes in every hot sauce gift set, including the Adventure 4-Pack. Or browse all our sauces.
Datil recipes
- Garlic Datil Lemon Caper Pasta: a 30-minute, one-pan weeknight dinner
- Garlic Datil Honey-Glazed Roasted Brussels Sprouts: a holiday side with sweet heat
- Slow Cooker Meatballs with Florida Sunshine BBQ: an easy party and game-day favorite
Find more in our recipe collection.
Datil pepper FAQ
What is a datil pepper?
A datil is a small, extra-hot chili pepper (Capsicum chinense) closely tied to St. Augustine, Florida. It's known for pairing habanero-level heat with a sweet, fruity flavor.
How hot is a datil pepper?
Datil peppers measure about 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville Heat Units. That's in the same range as a habanero and at least a dozen times hotter than a jalapeño.
Is a datil pepper hotter than a habanero?
They're about the same. Habaneros can reach slightly higher (up to around 350,000 SHU), and many people find datil's slow-building heat feels a little gentler.
What does a datil pepper taste like?
Sweet and fruity, with citrusy notes, followed by heat that builds and lingers. It has less bitterness than many other hot peppers.
Where do datil peppers come from?
They're most closely associated with St. Augustine and St. Johns County, Florida, where they've been grown for well over a century. Local tradition credits Minorcan settlers who arrived in 1777, while other records point to seeds brought from Cuba around 1880.
What is datil sauce?
Any sauce built around datil peppers. In St. Augustine it often means a sweet, tomato-based sauce served with fried seafood, but it also includes datil hot sauces, BBQ sauces, mustards and jellies.
What can I substitute for datil peppers?
Habanero or Scotch bonnet peppers are the closest match for heat. Add a little honey or orange juice to get closer to the datil's natural sweetness.
Can you eat datil peppers raw?
Yes, but carefully. They're extra-hot, so most people chop a small amount into salsas, relishes or marinades rather than eating them whole.
How hot is Stanky Sauce's Garlic Datil?
Our Garlic Datil Pepper Hot Sauce rates 2 out of 5 on our Adventure Meter: flavorful, with a noticeable kick that won't overwhelm your food. Florida Sunshine BBQ Sauce, our other datil sauce, rates ½ out of 5. See our FAQ for every sauce's heat level.
Small, sweet and fiery, the datil pepper is one of the most interesting chilies in America, and one of the best reasons to add a little adventure to your plate.
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