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Are any cayennes worth growing?

U

UltraZelda64

Last year I grew the "Long Red Slim Cayenne" variety, which produced well, and I had far too many plants... I wasn't crazy about the taste or heat and got sick of them quick. I've honestly had jalapenos that were hotter. Which leads me to wonder... are there *any* cayennes that are worth growing again? As in, for heat and flavor? I like the look of that big, fat cayenne on Wikipedia's article on cayenne peppers, but for all I know it could be the same as the one I had, except for shape and size... then again, hell, I'd be tempted to grow that one purely for looks if it consistently produced pods that looked like that! :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Large_Cayenne.jpg
 
cayenne is avery good teasting chili if used well mainly as powder it might not teast good fresh for you but i still like it for asian cook.
 
i can recommend the charleston hot cayenne, since it is my favorite non-superhot pepper. i don't usually eat too many peppers raw, but they work very well roasted in the oven.
 
I grew the long slim last year and was extremely disappointing in them. They really lacked heat. I'm growing a few of the Ring of Fire cayenne's this year and have my fingers crossed that they'll be better. So far the dried store bought cayenne's have been far better than what I've been able to grow.
 
I love my regular cayennes. They are very tasty cut in pieces and spread on bread with cream cheese. I love the cayenne powder. And heatwise my cayennes were better than my jals.
 
I'm not a big fan of cayenne peppers to start with but I've noticed that the larger varieties like long slim and whippet's tail/pinnochio's nose seem to be much milder and less flavorfull:(
 
this is the first year I have not grown cayennes in a long time...heck, I must have 3 pounds dehydrated...plenty for powder...

The Super Cayenne II Hybrid was the best for me...massive producer of 5-6" long pods about the size of a pencil...I have grown probably 25 different types of cayenne in the past...

I know it is not a cayenne, but I consider the super chili on the upper end of the "cayenne" scale...two plants will give you more pods than you can use and they are pretty hot...pods about 1-1.5 inches long and "fat-coned" shaped...massive producers...I am also impressed with the size of Mesilla Cayennes...and the pods kinda resemble elephant trunks...pretty big for a cayenne...typical cayenne heat...I grew Ristra Cayennes last year and geez...those were the longest cayennes I have grown...some 10" but most are in the 7 inch range when dried in a ristra like the pic....

ristra003.jpg


cayenne powder and flakes are a requirement along with the holy trinity in cajun' cookin'
 
crystal hot sauce is made with cayennes... the possibility of having a home-made improved version of that to put into chilli and fried chicken seems like a reason to grow them.
that's part of my plan if i succeed with my ring of fire plantings.
 
I think cayennes make the best powder, and for folks who do not really like a lot of heat they add great flavor IMO
 
Hmm. It looks like I'll probably forget about cayenne peppers then. I skipped them this year, seeing to good reason to change that so far next year.

It can always be found dried and crushed/ground in stores if that's its main use (I was just hoping it would be more versatile). And as Blister pointed out, the store-bought stuff actually has some decent heat to it compared to the crap I grew last year. I'm not disappointed in the heat of Tone's Crushed Red Pepper, although I rarely use it anymore in favor of hot sauces and cooking with fresh peppers (not a fan of getting little dry chunks stuck in my teeth and gums...).

Seriously though, I've made some tacos with 2-3 jalapenos that were far hotter than pasta with 6-8 cayennes... something's seriously up with that long red slim variety. I know cayennes are supposed to be quite a bit hotter than a typical jalapeno, but what I grew sure as hell wasn't.
 
Cap annuum longum is prolific and the texture is great. They are good both green and red. I eat these fresh and don't make powder.

longuma.jpg
 
I have been unimpressed with the Long Red Slim peppers myself, absolutely no heat. Last year I grew a few Ring Of Fire plants and was pleasantly surprised. I thought they were pretty hot for a cayenne. They also had a good taste and weren’t overly seedy. I have about 12 plants this year and plan to dry most of them.
 
Since there are several variants of ceyenne and depending where you are located, they can be big time producers, personally I have eaten them raw but really don't like the pugnent flavour of any of the long thin red chili type peppers, that includes thai, goats weed, super chili, suryanki, tepin - yes they have an initial burning effect but as for flavour, they have that pugnent taste that really isn't palate friendly. I do like habanero flavour and when my fatilii and hot lemon produce I kind of think I will prefer that flavour.
 
I've been growing Ring of Fire Cayennes for the second year on now, and I find them to be quite tasty, and packing a good amount of heat. I would recommend them :)
 
I grow Turkish Cayenne every year for Mrs. DR. I grind it and she uses it on most things she eats. Nice flavor and mild heat. Also, even though most folks here don't care for it, I grow Naga Jolokia PC-1 every year. To me, it's nothing more than a mild flavored cayenne with heat. It's a great producer as well. I grind it and use it as my "pepper shaker" pepper. Good stuff.
 
I forgot about the PC-1. That would be a fairly decent substitute for growing cayenne's. I have a couple of the Ring of Fire's growing right now and will have to see how they are when the start producing.
 
Pusa Jwala looks just like a cayenne, and has real nice heat and flavor. This year I planted twice as many Jwalas as last year...
 
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