Season(ings) Greetings: Cayenne

Continuing with my Twelve Days of Holiday Seasonings theme, Spice Number Two (Cayenne) packs a hefty, flavorful punch.  

 

Cayenne adds color and heat to foods, and acts as a stimulant, antiseptic, and digestive aid. Its active ingredient (capsaicin) is responsible for cayenne’s heat and is used commonly in topical pain relievers. Hot peppers like cayenne clear congestion, fight cholesterol, and raise metabolism to lower body fat. For those that can handle the heat, hotter peppers indicate higher antioxidant concentration and greater health benefit. Cayenne contains amino acids, calcium, essential fatty acids, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and vitamins C, E, and B-complex. 
Tip: Avoid eye contact after handling cayenne.

Associated recipe: Puffed Eggs. 

See my full article on cayenne peppers here for more recipes and information on this spicy pepper. 

Click here to read about cinnamon...
For a full archive of my nutrition articles for OKRA Magazine, click here. 

Season(ings) Greetings: Black Pepper

Stressed during the holiday season? Most of us have a lot going on in the hectic time of year between Halloween and New Year’s Eve. I am no exception to that, but in addition, have added a major move to a new home into the mix. During all of the packing, I was inspired for this blog topic when I discovered not one, but three spice racks, in addition to a cabinet full of solo spices.

Rack Up the Health Benefits with Spice

 Photo: Mireille Blacke and Daniel Belvedere, Jr. 

Spices were valued enough to be traded as currency, and wars were fought over them. In addition to the culinary, aromatic, and preservative functions of spices, they have also been used for medicinal, religious, and cosmetic purposes. But how exactly do spices influence nutrition and health? Most herbs and spices contain antioxidants and in addition to fighting off a number of nasty conditions, flavonoids and phenolic compounds impact nutrient absorption and can lead to increased nutritional content in foods. [Though herbs are also used in similar ways, a spice is derived from a dried fruit, seed, bark, or root, while an herb typically originates from a green, leafy plant.] 

Spice Market (Photo source: Wikipedia Commons)

 

Reflecting the Twelve Days of Christmas, I encourage you to incorporate twelve spices into your holiday merry-making, as well as the rest of the year. Experiment with one unfamiliar spice per month, and you’ll enhance the flavor profiles of your dishes as well as your health benefits. Here's one to start you off...

Black Pepper is one of the world’s most popular spices, and considered a potent digestive aid and carminative (helping to prevent flatulence). Black pepper’s sharp flavor signals the brain to produce hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach, which discourages unhealthy bacterial growth and prevents symptoms of bloating and indigestion. Black pepper contains manganese, vitamin K, iron, dietary fiber, and copper, all of which contribute to its antibacterial, digestive, and antioxidant properties. Does pepper make you sneeze? Though piperine in pepper can prompt this annoying reaction, it also increases nutrient absorption and functions as a cancer-fighting antioxidant. 
Tip: Because increased sodium intake can increase risk for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, substitute black pepper for salt in seasoning. 
Associated recipe:  Cajun Black Pot Turkey 

More Spicy Days of Christmas to follow...click here for cayenne.
For a full archive of my nutrition articles for OKRA Magazine, click here.  

Some Like It Hot: Cayenne Pepper

Though I am completely in love with the food and culture of New Orleans and many other cities of the South, I freely admit I am a culinary coward when it comes to spicy food, and generally will not indulge in some of the more popular dishes found in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. I always ask my server or host about the strength of the spice in a particular dish, and am usually told “Oh, it’s mild.” I clarify myself with “I’m a Yankee…from Connecticut…so, really, how spicy is it?” and then, with a slow grin, I am usually advised to order something else.

Fresh cayenne peppers (Capsicum frutescens) are the preferred hot capsicum (a type of pepper plant in the nightshade family) in the South and a key ingredient in hot and spicy dishes. The thin, long, hot pepper in its ground form is a common ingredient in Cajun dishes in particular. The ground powder adds reddish-brown color and fiery heat to sauces, soups, and stews. Cayenne peppers are remarkably diverse in cooking, eaten as readily as a spice or condiment with seafood (scallops, crab, oysters, sardines, smoked salmon and trout, fried mussels, lobster, and crawfish), egg dishes (omelettes and soufflés), meats (roasted, grilled, stewed, or fried), chicken, fish, or in vegetable dishes, soups, casseroles, hors d’oeuvres, and a variety of sauces (barbecue, shellfish, curries, cheese, Worcestershire and tartar sauces) and dips (salsa, avocado, and vegetable). 

In Hot Pursuit: Cayenne Peppers (I Ate That!)

 

Cayenne and other chili peppers were grown for thousands of years in the West Indies and Central and South America. Spanish explorers (who were clearly very busy and dedicated) introduced them to the rest of the world in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. Christopher Columbus is credited with introducing cayenne pepper to Europe (as a substitute for very expensive black pepper) after finding the capsicum on the Caribbean Islands, and Ferdinand Magellan is historically noted as introducing it to Asia and Africa. Today, cayenne peppers are grown on all continents. 

One of the most popular brands of cayenne is Tabasco sauce, which is the nationally marketed liquid form of cayenne pepper grown on Avery Island, LA. Recipes will note use of Tabasco or cayenne specifically because even though they serve the same purpose, each reacts differently in the cooking process and different quantities are required. The Tabasco company recipe search is worth a web visit for some great suggested uses of cayenne and Tabasco, such as this recipe for Cajun Blackening Rub. 

Liquid Fire: Tabasco Sauce (Flickr.com)

 My full article about cayenne pepper in OKRA Magazine can be found here. Click here for a full archive of my nutrition articles.