View source for Cayenne pepper

{{Short description|Hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox cultivar
|image = Capsicum annuum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-027.jpg
|image_caption = 
|genus = ''[[Capsicum]]''
|species = ''[[Capsicum annuum|C. annuum]]''
|cultivar = Cayenne
|module = {{Infobox pepper
| embed    = yes
| heat     = Hot
| scoville = 30,000–50,000
}}
}}

[[File:Large Cayenne.jpg|thumb|A large red cayenne]]
[[File:Thai peppers.jpg|thumb|Thai peppers, a cayenne-type pepper]]
[[File:Capsicum frutescens.jpg|thumb|''Capsicum frutescens'']]

The '''cayenne pepper''' is a type of ''[[Capsicum annuum]]''. It is usually a moderately hot [[chili pepper]] used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25&nbsp;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 50,000 [[Scoville scale|Scoville units]].

The fruits are generally dried and ground to make the powdered spice of the same name, although 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.

Cayenne is used in cooking [[spicy]] dishes either as a powder or in its whole form. It is also used as an [[herbal supplement]].

== Etymology ==
The word 'cayenne' is thought to be a corruption of the word ''kyynha'', meaning "capsicum" in the [[tupi language|Old Tupi language]] once spoken in Brazil. It is probable that the town [[Cayenne]] in [[French Guiana]] is related to the name, and the town may have been named for the pepper. [[Nicholas Culpeper]] used the phrase "cayenne pepper" in 1652, and the city was only renamed as such in 1777.

== Taxonomy ==
The cayenne pepper is a type of ''[[Capsicum annuum]]'', as are [[bell pepper]]s, [[jalapeño]]s, [[pimiento]]s, and many others. The genus ''[[Capsicum]]'' is in the [[nightshade]] family, ([[Solanaceae]]). Cayenne peppers are often said to belong to the [[Capsicum frutescens|''frutescens'']] variety, but ''frutescens'' peppers are now defined as peppers which have fruit which grow upright on the bush (such as [[tabasco pepper]]s), thus what is known in English as cayenne peppers are by definition not ''frutescens''.{{refn|group=note|However, in French, for example, the name ''{{ill|piment de Cayenne|fr|Capsicum frutescens|vertical-align=sup}}'' may refer to all types of ''C. frutescens'' and other types of ''C. annuum'' including tabasco, [[Piri piri|piri-piri]] or [[Bird's eye chili]].}} Culpeper, in his ''[[Complete Herbal]]'' from 1653, mentions cayenne pepper as a synonym for what he calls "pepper (guinea)"{{refn|group=note|The name Guinea pepper often means ''[[Aframomum melegueta]]'' or ''[[Piper guineense]]'' at present, but in Britain in the 16th and 17th century "Guinea pepper" or "ginny pepper" was the common name for ''Capsicum'' peppers in general.}} By the end of the 19th century "Guinea pepper" had come to mean [[bird's eye chili]] or [[piri piri|piri-piri]], although he refers to ''Capsicum'' peppers in general in his entry.

In the 19th century, modern cayenne peppers were classified as ''C. longum'', this name was later synonymised with ''C. frutescens''. Cayenne powder, however, has generally been made from the [[bird's eye chili|bird's eye peppers]], in the 19th century classified as ''C. minimum''.

== Varieties ==
Cayenne peppers are long, tapering, {{convert|10|to|25|cm|0}} 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.

There are many specific [[List of Capsicum cultivars|cultivars]], such as 'Cow-horn', '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'. Although most modern cayenne peppers are colored red, yellow and purple varieties exist, and in the 19th century yellow varieties were common. Most types are moderately hot, although a number of mild variants exist. Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000 [[Scoville scale|Scoville units]], although some are rated at 20,000 or less.

== In cuisine ==
[[File:Cayenne Pepper (cropped).jpg|thumb|Powdered cayenne pepper]]
Cayenne powder may be a blend of different types of chili peppers. It is used in its fresh form, or as dried powder on [[seafood]], all types of egg dishes (devilled eggs, omelettes, soufflés), meats and stews, casseroles, cheese dishes, [[hot sauce]]s, and [[curry|curries]]. In North America, the primary cultivar in [[Crushed Red Pepper]] is Cayenne. They are also used in some varieties of hot sauce in North America, such as [[Frank's RedHot|Franks RedHot]], [[Texas Pete]] and [[Crystal Hot Sauce|Crystal]].

== See also ==
* [[Chili powder]]
* [[List of Capsicum cultivars]]
* [[Sialagogue]]

== Further reading ==
{{EB1911 poster|Cayenne Pepper}}
* {{cite book
  | author = Nutrient Data Laboratory
  | chapter = 99369: Peppers, cayenne, raw (''Capsicum annuum'')
  | page = 68 (PDF p. 3)
  | title = USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods
  | chapter-url = http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Flav/Flav02-1.pdf
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080819235851/http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Flav/Flav02-1.pdf
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 19 August 2008
  | edition = 2.1
  | access-date = 13 July 2011
|display-authors=etal}}

{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Capsicum Cultivars}}

{{Authority control}}

{{二次利用|date=18 December 2022}}
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[[Category:Chili peppers]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of North America]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of South America]]
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Capsicum cultivars]]