Spice is nice:Cayenne pepper

This Capsicum gets its name from the capital city (Cayenne) of a French overseas region called Guiana which is on the north Atlantic coast of South America where cayenne chillies originate. The chillies are red and when matured they are dried and then ground into a pungent powder.

I make my own in small batches by grinding whole dried Kashmiri chillies and storing in a small air tight jar. It is not as hot as cayenne pepper but it perks things up all the same and adds a vibrant and wonderful colour when cooking.

Try mixing some cayenne pepper with sunflower oil then rub over pieces of chicken which is simple but adds something special to the chicken.

There are many health benefits attributed to cayenne pepper and the one I like helps to keep blood pressure levels normalized. It also rids the body of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

And by the way as Guiana is an overseas region of France it makes it part of the European Union. Not many people know that.




1 comment:

  1. It has been pointed out to me that I cannot call this Cayenne Pepper if I haven't used cayenne chillies. So for pedantic Paul's benefit this is my version of Cayenne Pepper made with Kashmiri chillies. And there's more as Kashmiri chillies are probably not from Kashmir at all but other regions, however, that is another story.

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