Cayenne

One cayenne plant supplies the pepper jar for a year: long red whips that dry fast and grind into powder with actual flavor. It runs the same calendar as the other hots, started mid March, colored up from August.

Growing

Start indoors 8 to 10 weeks ahead, move to a 5 to 7 gallon bag after the mid May frost, and give the brittle branches a small stake once they load up. Thin walls are the feature here: pods dry on a string or in a low oven without any of the fuss thicker chiles demand. Pick red from August through October, and the plant will keep producing as long as it keeps getting picked. Water lightly and regularly; a skipped day costs nothing, but a soggy week dulls the flavor that drying is meant to concentrate.

Varieties

Ring of Fire is the early, dependable cayenne for northern seasons; Joe's Long makes foot-long show pods that still dry clean.

In the kitchen

Whole dried pods keep in a jar and grind to order, and fresh-ground cayenne makes the store version taste like dust. A few pods steeped in vinegar cover the hot-sauce shaker.