Cayenne
Ground cayenne is sold for heat more than nuance; Dave DeWitt notes the jar may hold any small hot red chile, so flavor varies.
30,000 to 50,000 SHU, per Fiery Foods (DeWitt). Log scale against the hottest chile in this guide.
Cayenne is a long, slender, wrinkled red chile and the source of the familiar hot red powder. The name may come from kian, a Tupi word for the pepper, and the pod type probably arose in what is now French Guiana. Most of the U.S. crop goes into Louisiana-style hot sauce.
Dave DeWitt traces the pod type to northeastern South America, named for either the Cayenne River or the town of Cayenne. Portuguese traders carried it to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The pods can reach ten inches long, and one plant can bear about forty.
In the United States the cayenne is grown mostly in New Mexico and West Texas, and nearly all of it is made into mash for hot sauce. DeWitt notes that the ground cayenne in a spice jar may not come from the cayenne pod type at all. The American Spice Trade Association prefers the plainer name red pepper.
Heat varies a great deal by variety. DeWitt's own scale lists Long cayennes at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units and the Large Red Thick variety far lower, at 2,500 to 5,000.
Sources
- Pepper Profile: Cayenne (Dave DeWitt, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- Heat Scale Updated (Dave DeWitt, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- The Chili con Carne Project, Part 2: Chili Conquers the USA (Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- 2025 CASI Terlingua International Chili Champion recipe, Greg Lindsey (CASI)
- 2024 CASI Terlingua International Chili Champion recipe, Kevin Casey (CASI)
- 2018 CASI Terlingua International Chili Champion recipe, Tom Dozier (CASI)