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Originally Posted by bbro
. . . need some guidance. Last (first) time I did it, I burnt my mouth off. Apparently cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper are the same thing in 2 different forms!
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Two different peppers, actually. Cayennes are a small pepper with a lot of heat and next to no other flavor; it gets used to throttle your seasoning up to more hotness, in whatever quantity necessary. Crushed red peppers are more medium-heat, though there's plenty of lively in there too.
Nowadays, it's easier to find a variety of peppers, dried or fresh, in markets about anywhere.
The basic principle in making up a chile-pepper blend for tacos or chili is the bulk of the blend is the milder chiles -- anchos, poblanos, dried Californias all whopped up and ground to powder or flakes. Perhaps a medium-heat one in there too like crushed red pepper/pizza pepper. Then add in the hot guys to taste, fresh or dried: serranos, smoked jalapeņos a/k/a chipotles for a smoked taste note, guajillos if you think you want a bitter note too (good for fans of Carroll Shelby brand chili mix).
A picked-that-day hot pepper off the bush delivers a rather subtle brightness to the flavor of the dish that is a nice note to have.