Cayenne - Cayenne Spice and Cayenne Pepper 

Common Name and Species

Cayenne is named after the Caribbean city of the same name in French Guiana.

The actual assignment of cayenne peppers to a species in the genus Capsicum is indeterminate - some assign cayenne to Capsicum annuum others assign cayenne peppers to C. frutescens and still others assign cayenne pepper to C. baccatum (in this last case it would make cayenne the only world-wide cultivar of C. baccatum). All of which probably reflects that a variety of different chile peppers are utilized to make the spice cayenne.

Origin and History

As for origin, when it comes to the cultivars in the genus Capsicum, the answer is usually Peru and its immediate environs.  It is possible that cayenne is named after the Caribbean city of the same name or perhaps it was the other way around - from the Tupi indian word for chile pepper:  quiínia (pronounced like cayenne).

Description

Cayenne is an ambiguous term - it can refer to a commercial spice -
• Cayenne spice: An orange-red to dark red condiment consisting of the ground, ripe pods of any of several species belonging to the genus Capsicum. Sometimes called red pepper but the terms are not, strictly speaking, interchangeable.
  Or cayenne can refer to a chile pepper or a chile pepper plant -
• Cayenne pepper: A hot pepper ranging in size from four to twelve inches long and ranging in color from deep green (not ripe) through all of the colors of ripeness: yellow, orange, red and deep red. Usually skinny and wrinkled. Peppers are not usually considered cayennes unless they are hot - 25,000 SHU.

Commercial cultivation - Zones and Regions

The chile peppers that are used to make cayenne are grown world-wide both in the tropics and temperate zones.

How Used or Sample Recipe

Cayenne is pungent without much chile pepper flavor or aroma. Use cayenne for heat. Use paprika for color and flavor.

Additional Resources

For additional information
• about cayenne including medicinal uses and a list of reference materials
• about chile peppers in the kitchen
• Check it all out in Chile Pepper Magazine.