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My Favorite Pepper: Cayenne

September 26th, 2009

I picked this great cayenne pepper in the garden yesterday, I thought it looked like a big waxed mustache. I tried to get Lucy to oblige me for a photo, but she doesn’t like to have her photo taken, so this is the best I could get as she tried to bite the stem.
Dog_with_red_mustache
I grew cayenne peppers this year because I love love love hot food, and I find myself often adding cayenne powder or red pepper flakes to my food. I’m not a huge pepper fan, they give me terrible indigestion, but cayenne peppers are a different story.
drying_ceyanne_peppers
I’ve been drying them whole and in slices dehydrator. I’m planning on crushing them all to make red pepper flakes.
drying_peppers
I also dried some jalapeño slices. I’m still harvesting and drying, but I think I should have 3 cups of pepper flakes before the end of the season. That should last me till next year.

Have you ever grown one of your favorite spices/herbs?

20 Comments to “My Favorite Pepper: Cayenne”
  1. Heather on September 26, 2009 at 7:50 am

    I grew cayenne last year. I ended up with enough for me and a few friends. I always grow basil, oregano, mint, parsley, sage, thyme etc.
    .-= Heather´s last blog ..Cough, cough, hack,hack =-.

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  2. Amy on September 26, 2009 at 8:41 am

    I love hot stuff, always have since I came to the USA from Seoul, Korea when I was 9 mos. old.

    Amy
    .-= Amy´s last blog ..Julie’s Prayer =-.

    Reply to Amy's comment

  3. Chicago Mike on September 26, 2009 at 9:33 am

    I grow most of them!

    I just wish I could grow peppercorns.

    SOOOOOO tasty! I normally dry a lot of cayennes, but this year I am thinking of making some hot sauce as a method of preservation. There are some great sites out there!
    .-= Chicago Mike´s last blog ..Pumpkins Uber Alles =-.

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

    • Susy on September 26, 2009 at 11:24 am

      I wish I could grow peppercorns as well. I hear there’s a local berry you can use like peppercorns.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. KitsapFG on September 26, 2009 at 10:48 am

    I really did not end up wth anything hot in the garden this year. The Early Jalepenos are very mild – some heat but not much. I am going to grow something different next year to ensure I get some heat – but I have to find a variety that grows to maturity in a relatively short period of time because our “hot part of the summer” is very brief here.

    Reply to KitsapFG's comment

    • Susy on September 26, 2009 at 11:25 am

      Ours is too, I’m just starting to get some ripe peppers. Next year I’ll try to grow some small cayenne’s they should ripen earlier.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Dave on September 26, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    We grew some cayenne peppers too. We don’t use them in a lot of stuff but occasionally like them in stir fries and fajita type things. My favorite herb this year is sage.
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..Fall Color is Coming! =-.

    Reply to Dave's comment

    • Susy on September 27, 2009 at 9:52 am

      I agree, sage is wonderful. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Daphne on September 26, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    I have a whole bunch of cayennes drying on a ristra. They are so pretty. I’ll be sad to use them up and grind some of them, but I will. Spicy is good. I’m not sure what my favorite herb is that I grow. It isn’t the cayenne. Maybe rosemary or thyme. Or cilantro in the spring. Yum. Or basil when the tomatoes come in. Then again what would chicken be without sage or cucumbers be without dill? There are so many good herbs and spices. I wish I grew more.
    .-= Daphne´s last blog ..Fall Comes to the Garden =-.

    Reply to Daphne's comment

    • Susy on September 27, 2009 at 9:52 am

      I do love to grow herbs, I like sage as well, although I never got any started this year. I have a rosemary plant that I bring inside during the winter and I dry oregano from the garden.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. Mike on September 26, 2009 at 10:21 pm

    Can you recommend a more mild pepper for us to try growing for use in salsa next year? I like heat, just not too much.
    .-= Mike´s last blog ..Saving Seed – Belgian Endive & Red Giant Celery =-.

    Reply to Mike's comment

    • Susy on September 27, 2009 at 9:53 am

      I would try to find some mild jalapeños. I’ve heard you can buy seeds for them, and I’ve bought a few a the market that were really tame.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. MAYBELLINE on September 27, 2009 at 1:35 am

    I love hot food too. This year serrano peppers came to be my favorite for salsa making. I have bell peppers, but they are a bit sensitive to the hot sun we have so much of in the San Joaquin Valley.

    Herbs that I currently grow: basil, parsley, chives, thyme.

    Thanks for the cayenne suggestion. I think I’ll try them next summer and look forward to learning how your dehydration works out.
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Fall Planting Part II =-.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  9. stefaneener on September 27, 2009 at 1:56 am

    Funny, I’ve always had a wimpy mouth. But lately I want to push it hotter and hotter. I’m sure it’s mild to someone who really wants it hot, but I’m getting there.

    Want some dried orange Thai chiles? I’m not going to eat them, but man were they cute to grow! Email if you do.
    .-= stefaneener´s last blog ..Saving Eggs =-.

    Reply to stefaneener's comment

    • Susy on September 27, 2009 at 9:53 am

      Orange Thai Chiles, how interesting. I would love some!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  10. Homemade Ketchup Recipe | Chiot's Run on October 20, 2009 at 4:46 am

    […] has that perfect sweet tanginess that I love, it might even be better with some heat added (perhaps some of those cayenne’s I’ve dried). Of course if you’re expecting the texture of the stuff from the grocery you’ll […]

    Reply to Homemade Ketchup Recipe | Chiot’s Run's comment

  11. Grinding Your own cayenne pepper | Chiot's Run on March 10, 2010 at 4:46 am

    […] full sun conditions in my mom’s garden and the few plants I had here at Chiot’s Run as well. I dried the ripe cayenne peppers and have them stored in a big jar in the basement pantry. Every so often I add a few to my spice […]

    Reply to Grinding Your own cayenne pepper | Chiot’s Run's comment

  12. Michelle on July 5, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    We have our first cayenne plant, ( a few others too) and have an abundance of green cayenne. We don’t have a dehydrator (yet). How long would you recommend baking in the oven for? We’d love to have green pepper flakes. Will green peppers eventually turn red?

    Thanks for your time.

    Reply to Michelle's comment

    • Susy on July 5, 2010 at 9:36 pm

      The green peppers will get red, it takes them a while to do so. You can hang them in a warm dry place to dry if you have one, like an attic. If you live in an area where it’s not as humid you can simply hang them in the kitchen. It’s too humid here in Ohio for this, they simply mold. I’m going to attempt drying in my attic this year. If drying in the oven, set oven to about 130 and bake until dry and brittle.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  13. angie h on September 17, 2012 at 11:53 am

    can you dry these in the oven? I don’t have a food dehydrator yet….

    Reply to angie h's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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