The Devil’s Tongue pepper is a spicy hot chili pepper with a sweet, fruity flavor. It is similar in heat to the Fatalii or habanero, and was discovered in Pennsylvania.
Scoville Heat Units: 125,000-325,000 SHU
About the Devil’s Tongue
The Devil’s Tongue pepper is similar in color and shape to the Fatalii pepper, but with smoother skin and smaller size. It matures to a bright yellow or yellow-orange and has a sweet, fruity flavor, if you can get past the intense heat.
It appears to be in the habanero family, but as it was “discovered” in Pennsylvania growing among other habanero peppers, so its exact origins are unknown. The heat level rivals that of the habanero and is still much hotter than most peppers.
Where do Devil’s Tongue Peppers Come From?
The Devil's Tongue pepper is said to have originated in Pennsylvania, created by an Amish farmer. It possesses a higher level of heat compared to yellow while having a different kind of flavor.
The pepper bears similarities to the fatalii red, being that it shares ancestry with the yellow relative.
How Hot is the Devil's Tongue Pepper?
The Devil's tongue pepper possesses a fruity flavor while delivering a devilish level of heat. It certainly deserves its name. The pepper measures 125,000 to 325,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale.
When compared with typical jalapeno which measures around 5,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), the hottest Devil’s Tongue is about 65 time hotter. If you think jalapeño peppers are hot, you may not be able to stomach the Devil's Tongue pepper. It is spicy and great for those that love spicy delicacies.
You should expect great heat from the Devil’s Tongue pepper, as those that gave it the name weren't joking.
The twisted habanero pepper type is said to house mega heat while resembling the misshaped version of the devil's tongue. Since it comes with great heat and fruity flavor, the Devil's Tongue can be used in making sauces and salsas. It is great for those that want extremely hot variations.
What Does the Devil’s Tongue Pepper Look Like?
The Devil's Tongue looks much like the fatalii pepper, another pepper in the habanero family. It is mostly wrinkly and curvy and can grow up to three inches long.
At the tip, it things to a slender point, taking on the appearance of a tongue, much like the devil himself sticking out his tongue.
All those folds and twists give it quite a mean appearance. When you think about how it looks and its taste, you will understand why it was christened “Devil’s Tongue”.
The pepper starts out as green before it matures to a golden yellow-orange, though color can often changes with age.
Red Devil's Tongue peppers tends to be sweeter and hotter than other varieties.
Sometimes, the Devil's Tongue Red Plant may bear chocolate pods or yellow pods.
The pods usually start out from the light green hue and mature into dark red. The pods can reach a length of 3 inches long.
Cooking with Devil’s Tongue Peppers
When handling the Devil's Tongue, be careful because it is hot, and the oils can cause burning sensations on your skin. Make sure you use gloves to prevent that burn. If you have the burn, there are different ways to alleviate it. Learn more about how to stop the chili pepper burn.
It can be used in making different sauces and salsas, but also for dehydrating and grinding into spicy hot powders.
Whatever you can use a habanero pepper for, you can use the Devil's Tongue too. It’s one hot pepper, so enjoy accordingly.
Try this Devil's Tongue Hot Sauce recipe. Very hot!
Got an questions? Feel free to contact me anytime. I'm glad to help.
Learn About These Other Hot Chili Peppers
- African Bird’s Eye / African Devil
- Carolina Cayenne Chili Peppers
- Fatalii Chili Peppers
- Datil Pepper: Fiery Chili from St. Augustine
- Sugar Rush Chili Peppers
- Tshololo Chili Pepper
- Wiri Wiri Pepper
- Bahamian Chili Peppers
- Tiger Paw NR Chili Peppers
- Tabiche Chili Peppers
- Madame Jeanette Chili Peppers
- Jamaican Hot Chili Peppers
- There are even more here!
Josephine Segraves says
Can the seeds from Devil’s Tongue Pepper be saved to use next season?
Mike H. says
Correctly stored pepper seeds can last for years, so just make sure that you store them in a proper area for it. Enjoy!
Aliciathe devils tong says
The devils tong are doing well indoor but the multiple flowers keep coming off . Do you know why?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
It's possibly a fertilizer issue if the plant is not getting enough nutrients, or could be a temperature issue. Be sure the room in warm enough with plenty of sun as well.
Spider Jerusalem says
Additional to nutrient concerns (reduce N, Increase Potassium (K)), the flowers need to be pollenated. if they are not, they generally will drop off quickly. Some favor the 'shake' method to pollenate. I have two (stupidly large) hydroponic plants. Both have hundreds of flowers. Shaking never once produced a fruit. So use a Q-Tip and gentle brush inside each flower you can find. Some will fall off (pollenated too late) but many will remain. Once you have then pollenated just keep the light and nutrition up and don't touch 'em again. I went from 0 to about 200+ peppers on my plants in about 3 weeks and more are showing growth.
jepoy says
thank you for your research its helpful