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chinense I'm confused about the Datil pepper
- Thread starter Grass Snake
- Start date
Bou
eXtreme
Time for my update!
This year I grew both the Baker Creek Datils and the Semillas.de Datils to see if I could see a difference. Both plants grew out well and produced good numbers of pods.
Similarities:
Ripe color - beautiful bright orange
Flavor - Aside from minor differences in heat levels, I honestly couldn't find that much difference in the flavor. They both taste great and give that classic orange chinense flavor.
Productivity - Both plants put out a large amount of pods, with the Semillas.de datils producing more.
Differences:
Shape - This is what initially tipped me off that something was up with Baker Creek Datils. Baker Creek pods tend to have a dimple on the bottom (similar to a shishito or patron chile). This seems to be less pronounced in the plant I grew this year, but the plants I grew last year both exhibited this trait in most of their fruits. You can see a picture of what I am talking about here. The semillas.de pods more resemble a classic smoother habenero teardrop shape.
Size - Baker Creek pods were 2x as big as the ones from the semillas.de
Heat - heat levels were similar but I think that the semillas.de pods are slightly hotter. Both are very mild for chinense.
Unripe color - perhaps the most surprising, the unripe pods look very different between the plants, with the semillas.de datils growing a pale green on the plant and the Baker Creek pods a shiny dark green difficult to distinguish from the leaves of the plant
Image:
Insides (sorry, I ate the bottom half of these before I took the photo)
Conclusions:
I have no idea. They taste very similar, but the unripe color really throws me off. I think I will continue growing the semillas.de seeds because the pods look cuter to me
I grew the Datil years ago and unfortunately cannot remember my source, and don't remember offhand if I have any seeds left in the seed bank, but it was truly a wonderful pepper. I clearly remember doing a taste test with my family and it being top shelf among other really nice chinenses such as Scotch Bonnet, TFM and Fatalii. I also remember that Beth Boyd sent me an outrageously good yellow habanero that she spoke very highly of and the Datil tasted just like it. Not sure if this will be of any value in this thread, but here's a review that I did of the Datil pepper back in 2005:
Datil-one of the most underestimated chinenses in my opinion. Wonderful, fruity flavor with smoky undertones and high heat on a very tall (>3), upright and prolific plant. Standard season length for a chinense. Another chinense that is easy to become a favorite. Pendant fruit matures to orange.
@hadanero did you ever receive your Datil seeds from that source? I ordered from him a few years ago and never received the seeds, and assumed he was just a fly-by-night guy at best. After seeing that he's still offering seeds, maybe I'll follow up with him to see if he's willing to make good on the transaction.
Datil-one of the most underestimated chinenses in my opinion. Wonderful, fruity flavor with smoky undertones and high heat on a very tall (>3), upright and prolific plant. Standard season length for a chinense. Another chinense that is easy to become a favorite. Pendant fruit matures to orange.
@hadanero did you ever receive your Datil seeds from that source? I ordered from him a few years ago and never received the seeds, and assumed he was just a fly-by-night guy at best. After seeing that he's still offering seeds, maybe I'll follow up with him to see if he's willing to make good on the transaction.
I did, and I thought none of them germinated, but I must have mismarked a seedling that I was transplanting into a small bag because I have now a small plant giving me pods that look exactly like Datils.
They're habanero-hot but I wasn't getting anything fruity. The color is incredible, and for its size, it's reasonably productive. I'm guessing the small pot and the cheap potting soil has contributed to a weaker grow. If I grow it again, I'll put it in the ground rather than a small pot and I think I'd get a better result. I still have a good number of 2023 seeds from the seller and would be happy to send some your way - just DM me with your address if you're interested.
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Oh yeah! That's exactly what mine looked like! Thank you for the offer-I'll follow up with you, and let me know if there's anything that you are looking for!
