Cayenne Peppers

I love spicy foods. I really do. Curries, salsas, chili. I have a collection of hot sauces with names like Liquid Stoopid, Ultra Hot Mad Dog Ghost Pepper Sauce, and Crazy Jerry’s Brain Damage. Needless to say, when I heard that we were growing chili peppers, I got excited.

Here are some super-neat CAYENNE PEPPER FACTS.

• The cayenne pepper is (according to Wikipedia) also known as the Guinea spice, cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper, and red pepper.
• On the Scoville Scale that measures the heat of peppers, the cayenne pepper is has a midrange level of spicy with 30,000–50,000 Scoville heat units.
• The heat from chili peppers (called capsaicin) is used in making many arthritis medications.
• A teaspoon of red chili powder meets the RDA for Vitamin A, and green chili peppers have as much Vitamin C as six oranges. **
• Chili peppers are also a good source of Iron, Potassium, and Fiber.
• The cayenne pepper has a plethora of medical properties, from diet aide to anti-cancer agent to remedy for a toothache.*
• Eating a cayenne pepper will curbs your appetite. In other words, the pepper is so spicy that it makes you want to stop eating. It also boosts metabolism.
• In some Chilean cultures people put dry chili powder in their shoes to help keep their feet warm.

I will leave you with this one last tip. If you are ever bored and need something to do, just eat a whole cayenne pepper. Get a few friends together and each eat a chili pepper. Be sure to have a lake of water nearby, you will need them.

*http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/benefits-of-cayenne-pepper/

 **http://www.louisianapepper.com/about-cayennepeppers.html