For others though, Mardi Gras means eating and savoring great food such as hearty gumbo or spicy jambalaya. If you like food that is spicy hot, cayenne pepper is probably in your spice cupboard. Ground cayenne comes from small red chili peppers of the Capsicum genus. Cultivated in the Valley of Mexico in North America some 9000 years ago, peppers remained one of the most well kept secrets of the New World until Columbus introduced them to Europe in the late 1400s. There are hundreds of chili varieties ranging in pungency from sweet banana chilies to fiery hot habanero chilies.
Chilies contain capsaicin, which is the source of their hot flavor.
Capsaicin is an oily substance, not water-soluble, so it won't wash off easily and can be painful if it comes in contact with the eyes or other sensitive areas of skin. The capsaicin is contained in the ribs and seeds of the chili and the flavor of each variety is in the flesh of the chili. Ground cayenne is about medium on the fiery scale of ground chilies and is used on many Creole and Cajun dishes as well as a table condiment. File powder is not as common as cayenne, but it is used quite often in Cajun and Creole cooking. Louisiana's Choctaw Indians are believed to be the first users of sassafras.