Organic Cayenne Pepper Standard - 55g - Steenbergs details and description

Steenbergs Organic Cayenne Pepper is a pure chilli product with a consistent chilli heat in the range of 38,000 - 50,000 Scoville Heat Units.  Most recent batch is 51,200 SHUs, with capsaicin of 2081 mg/kg.  Steenbergs Organic Cayenne Pepper has the power to make any dish nice and hot, but it also has subtle flavour-enhancing quality.  For a zesty change, add Steenbergs organic cayenne to replace paprika on devilled eggs or potato salad.  Steenbergs organic cayenne pepper is grown in India, Spain or Uganda.

This is organic ground cayenne pepper powder. 

Cayenne was traditionally a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, the smaller species of chilli pepper plants, from Cayenne in French Guiana. Currently, our cayenne pepper is grown as a medium heat single strain of chilli in Spain; for a single hotter cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, visit Steenbergs Hot Cayenne Pepper product.  Chilli plants vary considerably in size, appearance and heat. It is hot and its heat is unpredictable, so varies from season to season. Capsicum frutescens is a herb or small shrub, with oval leaves and firm woody stems, growing to 1 metre high (3ft). They are usually grown as annuals as the yield of chilli fruits diminishes after the first year. The chilli pod is a many seeded red-orange berry with a shiny skin that can come in a wide variety of shapes, colours, thickness and spicy heat - at Steenbergs, we choose smaller fruits that are 1½ - 3½cm long and ½ – 1¼cm wide.

The aroma and flavour of fresh chillis is distinctly capsicum-like, with a hint of sweetness. Their pungent bite comes from the levels of various capsaicionoids, particularly capsaicin, which are present in the fruit; capsaicin causes the brain to release endorphins and so feelings of wellbeing. To make dry chillis, the fresh chillies are dried indoors at 20-25C (68-77F) to allow them to fully ripen, then they are dried outside on concrete floors, roofs of buildings or woven mats. At night they are heaped into piles and covered with tarpaulins to protect them, before being spread out again during the day. It takes roughly three days for the moisture content to be brought down to 10% from 70-80% when fresh; as an approximation, 100kg of fresh chillies yields 25-35kg of dried chilli spice. For more information on cayenne pepper, visit Wikipedia.

With the popularity of Indian cooking, we have become very fond of chilli in our food, whether dried or via a table sauce.  I am forever adding some heat from a sauce to add some spice into insipid and bland chicken, soup or vegetables.  Why not also make a simple sauce by adding 3 or 4 fresh chillies or dried organic Birds Eye chilli to a bottle of sherry for a few days, then adding it to food as and when needed?  Ground cayenne pepper combines well with almost all other spices and is found in recipes ranging from bhajis through to chutneys and tomato ketchup.  For more inspiration, try the BBC Website. 

Steenbergs Organic Cayenne Pepper is a core part of Steenbergs range of over 400 organic spices, peppers, seasonings, herbs and flavoured sugars.  It can be found in many of our retail stockists; for your nearest outlet, you can search our stockist database, ring Steenbergs on 01765 640 088 or email us at enquiries@steenbergs.co.uk.