[CH] Datil chiles
F. Eugene (dunnam@phys.ufl.edu)
Tue, 17 Apr 2001 13:43:53 -0400
Greetings-
If this duplicates info already posted, apologies to all. Datil
[rhymes with "that'll"] chiles were brought to the St. Augustine,
Florida area by a community of Minorcans who moved into the area in
the late 1700's. 'Datil' means 'date', as in fruit from the date
palm; nobody knows for sure how the name came to be applied to the
chiles. It's thought that these chiles were brought into the
community sometime in the 1800's [date uncertain] from the West
Indes, with which the Minorcans traded actively. According to the
experts, Datils are c. chinensis so they had to have come in from
the tropics & were not something brought over from Europe.
Anyway, these chiles were widely used by the Minorcans and others in
the St. Augustine area who liked spicy food. With the spreading
popularity of 'hot stuff', there are now around a dozen local brands
of Datil-based sauces, etc. I have no idea which was first to be
marketed, though 'DatilDoit' was the first one I saw on grocers'
shelves several years ago.
Datils grow well for us in north-central Florida. I think that
wherever you are, if you can grow Habaneros you can grow Datils. We
like the piquant flavor. They are not quite as 'fruity' as habs and
IMHO don't have quite as 'deep' heat. They are especially good in
mayonnaise: make up your favorite recipe of home-made blender
mayonnaise [I use sunflower oil] & about 30 seconds before finishing
it, throw in a few seeded [or not, as you choose] Datil pods. Great
on any sandwich!
Gene
*************************************************
* F. Eugene (Gene) Dunnam *
* Gator Slide Farm *
* 104 SE 138 Ave. <dunnam@phys.ufl.edu> *
* Micanopy, FL 32667 (352) 466-3538 *
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