[adri123]

Tried my first Cayennne pepper today.  Not hot at all...do they need to mature for a while on the plant?  It was green and hadn't been there all that long (a week or so).

TIA

Adri

[mjpalin]

I grew Cayenne last year, and whilst not the hottest of the Chilli's I grew, they did have a bite to them, though if I recall correctly, I waited for them to go from green to red before picking.
Does your packet give any indication if they're red or green when mature?

[bravemurphy]

The ones I grew last year all had different heat, I did not realise this till I gave a friend some and he got back to me a week later saying that one blew his head off.

[Headgardener22]

I thought that cayene peppers were red when ripe. So, I guess that would be the reason why it wasn't very hot.

[JayG]

Chilli heat, and the Scoville system for measuring it, are two of the more 'interesting' topics to research if you like your gurgle searches to take you off in several contradictory directions at once! 

I think it's fair to say that any single variety will be hotter when fully ripe, and hotter still when dried, and also that it's the white membrane rather than the seeds which are the hottest part.

Cayenne rates between Jalapeno and Birds Eye for heat, and well below the Scotch bonnet - I grow Cayenne exclusively now because they seem to be the most bomb-proof of the types I've tried, and definitely hot enough for my own slightly cowardly taste buds! Most of them I use either dried whole, or ground into cayenne pepper, so I can't offer an opinion as to whether individual fruits vary in heat (definitely too cowardly to munch my way through a whole raw one!) 

[Lardman]

There's always going to be variation in fruit, just as some strawberries are juicier than others, cayennes are on the milder side so any variation is going to be more noticeable, I certainly wouldn't waste time picking them green.

I grow Cayenne exclusively now because they seem to be the most bomb-proof of the types I've tried, and definitely hot enough for my own slightly cowardly taste buds!

You should try others Jay, if you can get paste the heat there are some lovely flavours out there. I did have at one point seeds for mild habaneros which provided that fruity/floral taste but without the heat they normally carry. I find the bottom end and the F1's all have a very sharp heat with very little actual flavour.

[JayG]

I grow Cayenne exclusively now because they seem to be the most bomb-proof of the types I've tried, and definitely hot enough for my own slightly cowardly taste buds!

You should try others Jay, if you can get paste the heat there are some lovely flavours out there. I did have at one point seeds for mild habaneros which provided that fruity/floral taste but without the heat they normally carry. I find the bottom end and the F1's all have a very sharp heat with very little actual flavour.

It's usually concerns about my bottom end which tend to govern how many and which variety of chilli I eat Lardman! 

[Totty]

Yes, they need to mature fully on the plant to get the best flavour and heat.

Totty

[beesrus]

I find the bottom end and the F1's all have a very sharp heat with very little actual flavour.

I agree with that.  A bit like the new supersweet F1 sweet corns having the actual corn taste swamped by too many sugars. I tend these days to stick to good old Fresnos,  Anaheim and the easy peasy Cayenne, that, yes, do need to ripen to red for their flavour and heat .
I'm going for a total F1 free season next year. Will mean me having to find user friendly Brussels and butternuts.

[Totty]

Can't agree with that at all. I've grown apache f1 for a few years and the taste is exquisite when mature. Has had excellent reviews at Matt Simpsons tasting days too. I doubt very much it's the only good tasting f1 chillie, or it would be pointless crossing them. I grow loads of heritage and open pollinated veg as they are interesting and many have great eating quality, but may have low yields or resistance to pest and disease. It's about weighing up the cost of seed and the results you get. For instance, I've grown Bedford fill basket sprouts once. Moneymaker and alicante toms once. Waltham butternut squash once etc etc. the trouble is that they are unreliable, and a false economy when you can get a few seeds for more money, but have better results.
 There is an old school gardener who lives opposite me, we readily share plants of all sorts, except tomatoes. He will grow nothing other than moneymaker. "I'm not spending 2 quid on ten seeds when I can get 100 moneymaker for 50p!" He will then go on to grow 8 plants, with average Yeild and poor quality taste. You can't tell some people.

Totty

[Headgardener22]

Moneymaker and alicante toms once.

Totty

Whilst I agree that there are some people who will only grow moneymaker and (IMO) they don't have the best flavour, that's no reason to assume that the only flavoursome tomatoes are F1. There are (literally) thousands of other heritage and open pollenated varieties to choose from many of which have a better flavour and equal productivity to F1 hybrids.

The problem I have with F1 hybrids (particularly tomatoes) is that they don't remain available. You grow them once, like them and then can't get the seeds again. The advantage with open pollinated/heritage is that if you like them you can keep your own seed and grow them again.

[Totty]

I didn't say that only f1s have good flavour. Just that certain older strains have poor flavour.
I grow a mixture of f1 and open pollinated toms and chillies, all for flavour.
Most of the f1s are bred for the supermarket growers, therefore taste is not really paramount. Cedrico for example. I grew that last year, the plants looked amazing, the fruits perfect and managed to win 3 firsts at 3 shows with them. The taste however was awful, therefore won't be growing again. So I've swapped them for Tourance this time.
The green zebra however, made untidy plants with lower yeilds but amazing flavour. That's a keeper.

All about trial and error really. Keep ringing the changes.

Totty

[Headgardener22]

Agree completely Totty.

We'll agree to differ on F1 vs heritage/open pollinated. I grow for flavour, colour, weight of crop and season. My favourite is Summer Cider but they're late beefsteak so I grow lots of others as well.

If you like green tomatoes, have you tried Green Grapes? They're really sweet.

[lazza]

Have grown orange cayenne the last few years, and they've been great. They ripen quite quickly, and develop a good heat. Even the green ones are reasonably hot if left to "dry out" often enough.

Just a shame that this year none of the seeds germinated! Looks like I need to buy a new packet!!

[Totty]

Agree completely Totty.

We'll agree to differ on F1 vs heritage/open pollinated. I grow for flavour, colour, weight of crop and season. My favourite is Summer Cider but they're late beefsteak so I grow lots of others as well.

If you like green tomatoes, have you tried Green Grapes? They're really sweet.

Not grown them before no. I'll put them on the trial list for next year!

Totty