Cayenne pepper is a seasoning made of powdered chili peppers and salt. It acquired the present spelling of its name from Cayenne Island, located off the northeast coast of South America, where the seasoning was once thought to have originated (in fact, the seasoning came from the South American mainland). The mistaken belief that cayenne pepper originated on Cayenne Island probably arose from a simple misunderstanding: in Tupi, a language spoken in the vicinity of Cayenne Island, the indigenous name for the seasoning was quiynha, a word not related to the name of the island, but happening to sound somewhat similar. As a result of the coincidental resemblance of cayenne and quiynha, the European merchants who traded with the inhabitants of that region in the seventeenth century confused the two words, gradually shifting the pronunciation and spelling of the seasoning’s name from quiynha to cayenne. Further back in history, Cayenne, the name of the island, arose as a French spelling of Guiana, the name of the South American country to which Cayenne Island belongs. Even further back, the name Guiana probably developed from a Tupi word meaning respectable, a trait possessed by the original inhabitants of that region. Cayenne Pepper also known as Capsicum annuum (Longum).
Spicy seasoning made from the ground dried fruits or seeds of hot pepper.
Hot, pungent pods are indispensable in Mexican, Indonesian and Italian dishes. An insect repellent spray for the garden is made with ground pods mixed with water and a little soap.
Cayenne, a condiment created by grinding or crushing chili peppers, is renowned for its fiery and sharp taste. Despite its searing heat, it is not as scorching as Tabasco sauce, which is concocted from a different type of chili, albeit smaller in size. Another name for cayenne is red pepper.