4 quarts Datil peppersThis recipe is from Judge George William Jackson in my mother’s old cookbook, What’s Cooking in Saint Augustine? 1968, 1970, p.53. I suspect that she might made it for my Dad, who loved all things spicy.
1 whole garlic onion
4 bottles (Fifths) of wine (sherry or port)Wash Datil peppers thoroughly in cold water. Wash and peel all cloves of entire garlic onion [whole garlic bulb]. Grind peppers and garlic together through meat grinder or blender. Place ground mixture in large crock; pour over 4 bottles of wine, mix and taste, strain off the liquid through a cheesecloth, and bottle. [This liquid seems to be the finished “Sauce Saint Augustine.”]
After straining off the liquid, if you wish to make a delightful apple relish, by mixing the left over ground Datils with apple sauce.
Datil peppers are grown locally in Saint Augustine and surrounding communities. My Father was also Florida-born—and my mother like making local cuisine as well as unusual dishes. Alas, I never inherited my Dad’s iron stomach, and so I would not have put this sauce on anything I ate.
The datil pepper (Capsicum chinense or Capsicum sinense), is also known as "yellow lantern chili." It is a small hot 3.5-inch yellow pepper which ripens to a brilliant orange yellow.
Alex Pooler, editor and writer of Visit St Augustine, described datil peppers as being “particularly unique to the St. Augustine region.”
Doubtless because of Saint Augustine’s Spanish roots, a local legend states that in late 18th century the peppers were brought to Florida by indentured workers from Minorca (Menorca) in one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. (More likely the Spanish took datil peppers back to Minorca.)
Their Latin name is a misnomer. The botanist who named Capsicum chinense, erroneously assumed these peppers originated in China. The peppers actually originated in the New World, but people still speculate about exact origins of the datil pepper.
Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland, in The Complete Chili Pepper Book 2009, speculated that datil peppers were first brought over in 1880 by a jelly maker from Chile, named S.B. Valls.
Below is a quote from Southern Kitchen with another valid theory posed by three University of Florida scientists:
Experts haven’t been able to agree on the history of the datil pepper, which has the scientific name Capsicum chinense, but three University of Florida scientists wrote a paper suggesting that it is not native to the state. “History provides evidence that it most likely arrived in St. Augustine during the late 1700s after the Spanish traded Florida to Britain for Cuba,” they wrote. “How the datil pepper came to Florida is unknown as are the reasons why they are peculiar to the St. Augustine, Florida, area. Capsicums are almost exclusively native to Brazil and these C. Chinense species most likely originated from there.”I will finish up with a quote from Alex Pooler which serendipitously explained why a datil pepper sauce would be named, “Sauce Saint Augustine”:--Southern Kitchen, Datil peppers are the fieriest, most flavor-packed sauce ingredient you've probably never heard of, July 12, 2019. (Alas I did not locate the names of the “three University of Florida scientists” or the name or date of their paper. )
"Although datil peppers can be found outside St. Augustine, it is very rare, and a majority of the datil pepper products sold on the market are used in our restaurants are made from datil peppers grown right here in the nation's oldest city."
"Bottled Hell" (Datil Pepper Sauce)Sources:2 cups datil peppers
3 cups vinegar
2 large bottles catsupInto an electric blender, put 2 cups of chopped datil peppers, and 1/2 cup vinegar. Blend for 5 minutes. Put mixture into a saucepan; add 2 large bottles of catsup and 2-1/2 cups of vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool slightly and pour into small bottles.
--another recipe found in Alex Pooler, “What the Heck is a Datil Pepper?” Visit St Augustine September 15, 2014.
What’s Cooking in Saint Augustine? compiled by Altrusa Club of Saint Augustine Florida, 1968, 1970, p. 53.
Alex Pooler, What the Heck is a Datil Pepper? Visit St Augustine September 15, 2014, accessed October 3, 2019. (This article is sponsored by Old St. Augustine Gourmet—a local company specializing in St. Augustine flavors. )
Southern Kitchen, Datil peppers are the fieriest, most flavor-packed sauce ingredient you've probably never heard of, July 12, 2019, accessed October 3, 2019.
Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland, The Complete Chili Pepper Book 2009, pp. 29–30.