| Cayenne pepper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genus | Capsicum |
| Species | C. annuum |
| Cultivar | Cayenne |
| Heat |  Hot |
| Scoville scale | 30,000–50,000 SHU |
Thecayenne pepper is a type ofCapsicum annuum. It is usually a hotchili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with a curved tip and somewhat rippled skin, which hang from the bush as opposed to growing upright. Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000Scoville units.[1]
The fruits are generally dried and ground to make the powdered spice of the same name. However, cayenne powder may be a blend of different types of peppers, quite often not containing cayenne peppers, and may or may not contain the seeds.[2]
Cayenne is used in cookingspicy dishes either as a powder or in its whole form. It is also used as anherbal supplement.
The wordcayenne is thought to be a corruption of the wordkyynha, meaning "capsicum" in theOld Tupi language once spoken in Brazil.[3] The townCayenne inFrench Guiana is related to the name,[3] and may have been named for the pepper[4] or theCayenne River.[1]
English botanistNicholas Culpeper used the phrase "cayenne pepper" in 1652,[5] while the city was only renamed as Cayenne in 1777.[6]
The cayenne pepper is a type ofCapsicum annuum, as arebell peppers,jalapeños,pimientos, and many others. The genusCapsicum is in thenightshade family, (Solanaceae). Cayenne peppers are often said to belong to thefrutescens variety, butfrutescens peppers are now defined as peppers which have fruit which grow upright on the bush (such astabasco peppers), thus what is known in English as cayenne peppers are by definition notfrutescens.[note 1] Culpeper, in hisComplete Herbal from 1653, mentions cayenne pepper as a synonym for what he calls "pepper (guinea)".[note 2][5][8] By the end of the 19th century "Guinea pepper" had come to meanbird's eye chili orpiri-piri,[7] although he refers toCapsicum peppers in general in his entry.[5]
In the 19th century, modern cayenne peppers were classified asC. longum, this name was later synonymised withC. frutescens. Cayenne powder, however, has generally been made from thebird's eye peppers, in the 19th century classified asC. minimum.[7]
Cayenne peppers are long, tapering, 10 to 25 centimetres (4 to 10 in) long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with a curved tip and somewhat rippled skin, which hang from the bush as opposed to growing upright.[citation needed]
There are many specificcultivars, such as Cow-horn,[9] Cayenne Sweet, Cayenne Buist's Yellow, Golden Cayenne, Cayenne Carolina, Cayenne Indonesian, Joe's Long, Cayenne Large Red Thick, Cayenne Long Thick Red, Ring of Fire, Cayenne Passion, Cayenne Thomas Jefferson, Cayenne Iberian, Cayenne Turkish, Egyptian Cayenne, Cayenne Violet or Numex Las Cruces Cayenne.[1] Although most modern cayenne peppers are colored red, yellow and purple varieties exist, and in the 19th century yellow varieties were common.[1][10] Most types are hot, although a number of mild variants exist.[1] Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000Scoville units, although some are rated at 20,000 or less.[1]
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Cayenne powder may be a blend of different types of chili peppers.[11] It is used in its fresh form, or as dried powder onseafood, all types of egg dishes (devilled eggs, omelettes, soufflés), meats and stews, casseroles, cheese dishes,hot sauces, andcurries.[11] In North America, the primary cultivar incrushed red pepper is cayenne.[12] It is also used in some varieties of hot sauce in North America, such asFrank's RedHot,Texas Pete andCrystal.[citation needed]
