We love growing our own peppers.  This year we included Cayenne peppers, which are beautiful, very prolific plants.

We had fun going out to the garden and looking for the bright red peppers, picking them, then hanging them on the “pepper lines” to dry.  The pepper lines consisted of  two lengths of yarn stretching across my sewing room.  We would hang each pepper on the line with a clothespin, leaving them there until they felt dry and you could hear the seeds rattling inside.

Towards the end of the season, we even picked the peppers that were still green, so we wouldn’t loose them to the frost.  They dried well, too.

We had a coffee grinder that we use for grinding spices.  We broke the peppers so they would fit into the grinder

and then ground them into fine flakes.  (Grind longer for a powder)

We keep them in a canning jar (because we have a lot of them) and store them in the cupboard.

Because there are no “anti-caking” chemicals added, I sometimes have to give it a quick shake before I use it.

Now we have LOTS of Cayenne pepper to use in our recipes!!

BENEFITS:

• Satisfaction of growing your own spice
• Depth of flavor you can’t get in the store
• No chemical additive
• Saving money

Cayenne pepper flakes are generally sold in 1.5 oz containers, for about $1.25.  I have approximately 12 oz for $2.00 worth of seed!

MONEY SAVED: $8.00!

🙂