Cayenne

Cayenne

Cayenne pepper, or Capsicum longum, is a 3-foot-tall shrub part of the Capsicum annuum family that is native to South America.

History

Cayenne has been cultivated in South America for over 7,000 years and was introduced to Europe by Peter Marty who was on Columbus’ first voyage to the New World.

By the 1600s the Portuguese spice traders had made it one of the most popular spices in the world.

Today it is still an extremely popular spice, although a lot of the Cayenne powder being sold is being made with bird’s eye peppers.

Harvest

After 70 days the pod’s skin will have a waxy appearance and the flesh will be firm indicating they are ready to be harvested. While they can be picked when green, to get the maximum heat you should wait until they are red and beginning to wrinkle before harvesting.

Once a pepper is harvested, another flower will grow in its place. Meaning the more often you harvest, the more peppers the plant will produce.

Anatomy

A tall shrub that has densely branching stems with purple tinged alternating leaves. The white flowers produce a 5-inch slender pod that starts green and turns a red-brown color when fully ripe.

Etymology:

Cayenne pepper takes its name from kyynha which mean pepper in the Old Tupi language that was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil.