Is red pepper the same as cayenne?

[heidibowman]

Tried to look it up on Penzeys.com but didn't get a definitive answer.

TIA

Heidi

[Janet K]

Heidi:

here's what my tin of ground red pepper says: " One of the hottest spices, Ground Red pepper is made from hot Capsicum peppers"

And the jar of Cayenne says: "Cayenne pepper is the fruit of a larger variety of red pepper plant known as Capsicums"

Hmm.. I always thought they were possibly different, but maybe not!

[heidibowman]

Janet,

Thank you for your help!

Heidi

[lorilei]

I think we're getting into a discussion of semantics here -- based in the way the spice industry markets their product.

Red Pepper is made from the ground fruit of a plant in the Capsicum family (chilis or chili peppers). According to the American Spice Trade Association, "Red Pepper" is the preferred name for all hot red pepper spices. Cayenne Pepper is another name for the same type of product. Some manufacturers use the term Cayenne Pepper to refer to a hotter version of Red Pepper.

I'm only clarifying this a little bit because products marked "cayenne" can often be much hotter than those marked "red pepper"... probably not exactly interchangeable ;)

[heidibowman]

Originally posted by lorilei
I'm only clarifying this a little bit because products marked "cayenne" can often be much hotter than those marked "red pepper"... probably not exactly interchangeable ;)

Lorilei,

I'm thinking you might be on to something. The sesame pork fajitas I made last night were a LITTLE more spicy than I think they were supposed to be. (I used Cayenne.)

Guess maybe I need yet ANOTHER spice to add to my collection! :eek:

Heidi

[munchies]

I always thought they were the same thing...but maybe not.

Although, when I looked at my bottle it says, "Cayenne" and then "ground red pepper" underneath. Hmmm. Just more confusion. :(

[Tina_B]

When you substitute cayenne for red pepper, what proportions do you usually use? I tend to keep it the same, but I think that some of my dishes have come out a touch too spicy.

[Ohioan]

Actually, there are lots of different kinds of red peppers, one of which is cayenne. The Penzey's catalog, in fact, has two different varieties of "crushed red pepper," one of them hotter than the other, plus "cayenne" as a separate item.

Paprika also comes from red peppers, but milder ones than the ones we think of as "hot" peppers (although there are some fairly hot paprikas, too).

I understand that some people pride themselves on knowing as much about these peppers as I do about beans!;)

I'd say if your recipe calls for "red pepper," check to see whether it's ground, crushed, or fresh, and then ... wing it. :D (Boy, I'm some help, huh?)

Cheers,
Phoebe