Golden cayennes – hot and healthy
Back when indigenous folks were naming things, those who lived along the coast of Brazil decided to call a slender hot native pepper “kyinha.” Because of the tropical climate in that part of the world, pepper plants of all varieties could be perennials and their fruit – both sweet and hot – were part of the daily cuisine.
Historians (who weren’t there at the time) inform us (because we weren’t there at the time) that a river in the northern part of the continent eventually acquired the name Cayenne (from kyinha) and so did a large gathering spot on an island where that river meets the Atlantic Ocean. That city became Cayenne, the capitol of French Guiana… a city named for a pepper whereas habañero was named for a city (Havana).
European marauders arrived and took a bite of the cayenne pepper and hollered for holy intervention, “Sacre bleu! That thing burns my mouth!” to which the natives would have shrugged and said, “Yeah, so?” For natives, cayennes were one of the milder hot varieties. Craig Dremann of Redwood Seed Company created a hotness scale for peppers, and he placed cayennes at 625, just below jalapeños. Habeneros call home at 23,000, and the Trinidad Scorpion wins the prize on Dremann’s scale at 144,000!
Cayennes pack enough heat for me, and they are worth the experience. To read a list of all the health benefits of cayenne and other hot red peppers is to ask yourself if you want to live to be 112 years old or so. James A. Duke states in his book The Green Pharmacy writes, “British physician Irwin Ziment urges his emphysema patients to eat a hot, spicy meal every day or down a glass of water spiked with 10-20 drops of hot-pepper sauce. There are two reasons for this. First, red pepper is a rich source of antioxidants that help protect lung tissue from damage at the cell level. Second, it helps thin mucus and moves it out of the respiratory tract.”
In Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine, herbal expert Steven Foster noted European invaders saw the locals using cayenne to prevent infection, relieve toothache and increase circulation which was a benefit for rheumatism, menstrual cramps and muscle pain.
Ironically, the capsaicin in cayenne peppers brings momentary discomfort to the mouth but topical capsaicin applications can provide temporary relief from pain by sending messages to the brain which distract nerves from hurting… something like that. There are over-the-counter creams, tinctures and lotions for this.
Years ago, I was preparing a lunch which involved cutting up cayennes, and later that afternoon innocently rubbed near my eye. Don’t do that. Capsaicin on your fingers stays ready for action long after lunch is over.
Scientists who need to think about things in order keep their jobs have speculated cayennes and related hot peppers evolved hotness so animals won’t eat them. Birds lack the receptors in their brains which signal pain, so birds can snack away and, by happy coincidence, spread seeds. It’s a wonderful world.
Researchers at the National Institute of Health have discovered that capsaicin protects the stomach from ulcers by inhibiting acid secretions and triggering other secretions which even heal ulcers. Additionally, these secretions aid in digestion. Don’t you feel better already?
I have found that cayenne peppers grow well in our area. When planted by mid-spring, the plants begin to produce peppers by late summer and might not stop till a frost falls down. A question for a gardener is how many plants do you need because they can be especially productive. Typically, cayennes are red, but I began growing golden cayennes several years ago because why not?
Cayennes dehydrate easily for making spicy paprika. Cut them however you like and place them on a tray in the sun. When dry enough, pulverize them in a grinder used specifically for pepper grinding. You can also string them together for later use which will look so stylishly ethnic.