Cayenne Chile Pepper

The word cayenne seems to come from kian, the name of a pepper among the Tupi Indians in what is now French Guiana and was named after either the Cayenne River or the capital of the country, Cayenne.  It owes it spread around the world to Portugal whose traders carried it around the world in the 15th & 16th centuries.

The cayenne pepper, also known as the Guinea spice, cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper, or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper, is a hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. It is also sold whole or crushed as red pepper flakes.

Cayenne chiles are generally sold dried. The majority of cayenne chiles are used to make cayenne pepper.  There are now a multitude of varieties available with differing fruit lengths, thicknesses and heat levels.