Cayenne pepper is a thin, hot red Capsicum annuum chilli, best known dried and ground into the bright, sharp powder used worldwide to add clean heat with little flavour of its own.
What it is¶
Cayenne is a variety of Capsicum annuum with long, thin, often wrinkled pods, 10–25 cm long, that ripen from green to bright red. It is grown fresh in some places, but its real identity is as a powder: dried ripe pods ground fine to give the orange-red "cayenne pepper" sold in every supermarket.
In practice "cayenne" on a label is more a heat grade than a single cultivar. Commercial cayenne powder is often a blend of hot red chillies from several countries, standardised to roughly 30,000–50,000 SHU. It is hotter than most chili powder (the American blend) and much hotter than paprika, with which it is sometimes confused in the jar.
Origins and history¶
The name is usually linked to Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, though whether the chilli was named after the town or both come from a Tupi word for chilli (recorded variously as kyinha or quiínia) is disputed. The name was in English use by the eighteenth century, when "Cayenne pepper" was a fashionable condiment on British tables; Georgian and Victorian cooks used it in potted shrimps, devilled kidneys, Welsh rarebit and anchovy sauces, a tradition that survives in British cooking.
Early commercial cayenne had a bad reputation: nineteenth-century campaigners found it adulterated with red lead and other colourings, an early chapter in the story of spice adulteration. Cayenne was also a mainstay of Cajun and Creole cooking in Louisiana, and it became one of the base ingredients of American hot sauces.
Flavour and aroma¶
Cayenne is prized precisely because it tastes of little but heat. There is a faint fruitiness and a dusty, hay-like note, but it brings nothing like the sweetness of paprika or the raisin depth of ancho. The heat arrives quickly, sits at the front and back of the mouth, and fades relatively fast compared with the slow build of habanero. That neutrality is what makes it a good seasoning: it raises heat without changing a dish's character.
In the kitchen¶
Think of cayenne as a seasoning, like salt, to be added in small amounts and tasted. A quarter of a teaspoon is enough to warm a pan of soup for four; half a teaspoon makes it noticeably hot.
- British classics: a pinch in cheese sauce, Welsh rarebit, cheese straws, potted shrimps, devilled eggs and kidneys. It sharpens cheese without making it taste "spicy".
- Cajun and Creole: a core ingredient in cajun seasoning, gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée and crawfish boils; see cajun and creole cuisine.
- Rubs and blends: barbecue rubs, jerk seasoning, fried-chicken flour, chili powder.
- Indian cooking: "chilli powder" in many Indian recipes means a hot red powder close to cayenne. For colour without extra heat, use Kashmiri instead.
- Drinks and sweets: a pinch in hot chocolate or with dark chocolate and cinnamon.
💡 Add it to fat
Cayenne's heat, like all capsaicin, dissolves in fat and alcohol rather than water. Stirring it into the butter of a roux or the oil of a dressing spreads the heat evenly; sprinkling it on top of a watery soup gives hot spots.
Cayenne burns easily. Do not fry it on its own in very hot oil for more than a few seconds, or it turns bitter and fills the kitchen with choking fumes.
Buying and storing¶
Buy small jars from a shop with a quick turnover and look for a vivid orange-red; brown, dull powder is old. Keep airtight, in the dark, and use within six months to a year. Cayenne keeps its heat longer than its colour and aroma. Fresh cayenne pods keep for one to two weeks in the fridge, or can be strung and air-dried.
Substitutes¶
- Chile de árbol powder: similar heat, slightly nuttier.
- Hot paprika or Indian chilli powder: use a little more for the same heat.
- Chilli flakes: similar heat but coarser; grind them if texture matters.
- A few drops of plain hot sauce in liquid dishes.
- Do not substitute American chili powder one for one: it is a milder blend with cumin and oregano.
Pairs well with¶
Cheese, eggs, butter, seafood, chicken, chocolate, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, thyme, lemon and tomato.
Growing your own¶
Cayenne types are among the easier chillies to grow. Sow indoors in February or March at 20–25°C, pot on, and plant out after the last frost in a sunny, sheltered spot or grow in a greenhouse. Plants reach 60–90 cm and crop heavily; support them with a cane, as laden branches snap. Pick green or leave to ripen red for more sweetness and heat. The thin walls make cayenne ideal for air-drying: thread pods on a string through the stalks and hang somewhere warm and airy for several weeks. See growing chillies.