Chili pepper · St Augustine, Florida
Datil
300,000 Scoville heat units
Habanero-level heat but sweeter. Grown almost nowhere else in the United States.
What this rung gets you A vindaloo cooked the way the kitchen eats it
How hot Datil actually is
Datil is about 60 times hotter than a jalapeño, and it does not hold still — published figures run from 100,000 to 300,000 SHU. Sunlight, drought stress and ripeness all push a pod up its range, so the number on a chart is the middle of a wide spread rather than a promise.
On the twelve-rung ladder
It sits on rung 10, Inferno, which spans 200K to 450K SHU. Full habanero. Wear gloves when handling these — capsaicin stays on your fingers for hours and your eyes will find it.
Training to this rung is what gets you: A vindaloo cooked the way the kitchen eats it.
Comparable heat
Anything here burns at roughly the same level, which is what makes them interchangeable when you are training at this rung.
- Scotch bonnet 200,000
- Habanero 225,000
- Fatalii 250,000
- Mad Dog 357 357,000
Common questions
How hot is Datil on the Scoville scale?
Datil measures about 300,000 Scoville heat units, with a published range of 100,000 to 300,000 SHU. That is about 60 times hotter than a jalapeño.
Where does Datil sit on the ladder?
Rung 10 of twelve — Inferno, covering 200K to 450K SHU. Full habanero. Wear gloves when handling these — capsaicin stays on your fingers for hours and your eyes will find it.
What stops the burn from Datil?
Dairy. Capsaicin is fat-soluble, so water spreads it rather than removing it; the casein in milk, yoghurt or ice cream lifts it off the receptor. A spoonful of sugar held in the mouth measurably helps too. Starch — rice or bread — physically carries it off the tongue.
Coming soon to the App Store
Eating Datil is rung 10 of twelve
A vindaloo cooked the way the kitchen eats it — that is what rung 10 gets you. Scoville Ladder gets you to rung 10 on a schedule rather than a dare: a heat to train at tonight, rest between, and a target that moves with the burn you actually report.
Find your rung See the twelve rungs
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