Cayenne

If “the hotter the better” is your motto when it comes to food, cayenne pepper is for you. Chances are you’ve already eaten quite a bit of it, but now it’s time to learn a little about this fiery spice.

Cayenne pepper, also known as red pepper, was named after the hot chiles grown in French Guiana near the Cayenne River. While cayenne pepper originated from Central and South America, most of the chile peppers from which it is now derived are grown in China, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico. Not surprisingly, they’re related to jalapeños, paprika, and bell peppers.

Cayenne is used to put the heat in Szechuan and other spicy dishes. It’s also the main ingredient in many hot sauces, giving them their familiar flavor. Thus, it’s the recognizable taste in dishes such as Buffalo wings.

The heat of chile peppers is measured using the Scoville scale. Cayenne is rated at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. To give you an idea of what that means, most bell or sweet pepper are rated at 0 to 100 units and Habañero peppers (the hottest) are rated at 200,000 to 300,000 units.

Capsaicin gives cayenne its heat, but it also does more. It’s used as a pain reliever and is a common ingredient in several creams used to treat arthritis. It also stimulates the mucus membranes in the nose and respiratory tract, allowing them to drain, which explains why your nose runs whenever you eat spicy food. So consider adding some to your foods the next time you’re suffering from a cold.

Cayenne pepper is also a good source of vitamin A. Two teaspoons provide almost 30% of your daily need. Granted, you may need a mouth and a stomach made of iron to eat 2 teaspoons at once. Vitamin A helps maintain the health of the tissue that lines all of our body cavities, including the respiratory and digestive tracts. For that reason, cayenne pepper may reduce asthma symptoms and protect against colon cancer by helping prevent the free radical damage that can exacerbate those conditions.

If you love the spicy stuff, sprinkle cayenne into soups or on beans, rice, or almost anything. If your taste buds aren’t made of steel, you can still enjoy this pungent spice, just with a lighter hand. A dash added to casseroles such as macaroni and cheese can impart an interesting flavor and a mild kick. And to add an international flair to your diet, try a dash in your hot chocolate as they do in Mexico.

— Heidi Reichenberger McIndoo, MS, RD, LDN