Cayenne Peppers - An Extremely Hot Little Package of Flavor

Very Hot. "Charles-ton Hot" is deemed the hottest cayenne at 70,000 to 100,000 Scoville Units. The 18-inch tall plant produces 4 to 5-inch long peppers that mature from light green to yellow to orange and red. Great for drying.

It is also used frequently in Creole and Cajun dishes.

The peppers are also sold dried and dried powder (see spices).
If you are unfamiliar with cayenne, start out with half the amount called for in a recipe.

Herbs and Spices | Dried and Fresh Peppers | Garlic, Leeks and Onions

The easy-to-grow cayenne pepper, averaging 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, is an ideal container plant. It produces brilliantly colored, quite hot peppers, four to six inches in length that mature in seventy to eighty days.

Cayenne peppers were first grown among the Cayenne district of French Guiana. After colonization, the Portuguese introduced the pepper to Asia and it is now very popular in Indian and Indo-Chinese cuisines.