Cayenne Pepper Scoville, 25,000–50,000 SHU

How hot is a cayenne pepper?

A cayenne rates 25,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat units, the range UF/IFAS Extension publishes¹ and repeats on its Scoville list². The range starts in the medium band and ends in the hot band; its midpoint of 37,500 SHU is why you see it under hot in our index.

Gram for gram, a cayenne brings 5 to 10 times a jalapeño's heat, so cut the amount when you swap one for the other.

How far does cayenne sit above a jalapeño or a serrano?

Divide by the published figures and the ratios come out as below. All the numbers come from the same UF/IFAS publication, so you can compare them directly.

The serrano row surprises people. A mild cayenne and a hot serrano both rate 25,000 SHU, so if you're swapping one for the other, the serrano against cayenne page shows where they overlap. Most of you will hold a cayenne up against a jalapeño, and the cayenne and jalapeño pairing works through that gap in a recipe.

Why do lab tests of cayenne give such different numbers?

Because labs measure different pods, grown in different places, on a different basis. Two recent studies tested cayennes and landed far apart, and you'll find both numbers quoted online:

Species also shapes the mix of heat compounds. The North Carolina team found C. annuum peppers like cayenne averaged a 64:30:6 ratio of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin, against a more capsaicin-heavy 73:25:2 in C. chinense types such as the habanero⁶. Two peppers with the same SHU can still feel a little different in your mouth.

Dry-weight figures read high because a fresh pod is mostly water. The North Carolina cayennes held about 81 to 82 % water⁶, so 91,907 SHU on dry weight works out to roughly 17,000 to 18,000 SHU in the fresh pod you'd bite. That's our arithmetic on their numbers, and it lands right beside NMSU's two releases. Trust the extension range for cooking, and expect your own pods to vary by variety, weather and field.⁷

Why is it called cayenne?

It's named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana¹. The plant is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum, so it's family to the bell pepper, the jalapeño and paprika¹. The University of Guam lists cayenne under the same species, beside bell, wax, jalapeño and bird types⁸.

You'll also hear gardeners use "cayenne" for a shape. Virginia Cooperative Extension describes a hot cayenne group of slim, pointed, slightly twisted fruits and puts Anaheim, cayenne, serrano and jalapeño in it⁹. So when your old seed catalog says "cayenne type", it means the long thin pod, not a heat level.

That's why you'll find a mild Anaheim in the same pod group as a pepper 25 to 50 times hotter.

What does a cayenne plant and pod look like?

A long, narrow red pod on a plant 2 to 4 feet tall, about waist high on you. UF/IFAS gives plant height and color, and its variety list describes a typical cayenne pod.

UF/IFAS describes Arapaho as a cayenne type with early maturity on a medium-sized plant and fruit with medium-high pungency with great flavor and aroma¹⁰. University of Maryland Extension names cayenne among its hot varieties and gives most hot types 70 to 85 days from transplanting⁴. Red is the usual ripe color, but the UC Master Gardeners of Ventura County note yellow and purple cayennes too³.

Your pod size depends on the variety and the year. The backyard cayennes in the North Carolina study measured about 66 to 76 millimeters long, under 3 inches, and about 12 to 13 millimeters wide⁶, far shorter than Arapaho.

Which cayenne varieties can you grow?

Extension and university breeders publish pod size, and NMSU also publishes heat for its two releases. Both NMSU figures sit below the UF/IFAS range, a reminder that heat varies a lot by variety⁷.

Pick Nematador if root-knot nematodes have hit your beds before; NMSU calls that pest a major problem for cayenne growers⁷. Pick Las Cruces if you want volume for sauce, since NMSU bred it for the cayenne mash that hot sauce makers ferment⁷.

How is cayenne used?

Mostly dry, and that's how most of us buy it. UF/IFAS says cayenne is generally dried and used as ground powder or dried flakes¹. The other big use is sauce: Frank's RedHot Original lists aged cayenne red peppers first, then distilled vinegar, water, salt and garlic powder⁵.

1. 1

   Ripen on the plant

   Let the pods turn fully red. Peppers don't ripen further once picked.⁴

2. 2

   Dry the pods

   Dry the ripe pods whole; dried cayenne is the starting point for both powder and flakes.¹

3. 3

   Grind or crush

   Grind fine for cayenne powder or crush coarse for flakes.¹

4. 4

   Or age it into sauce

   Aged cayenne blended with vinegar, salt and garlic is the formula on a Frank's RedHot label.⁵

That aged-pepper-and-vinegar build is the same family as Louisiana-style hot sauce, and the cayenne hot sauce recipe scales it down to one jar. Fermenting doesn't cost you any heat: in the 2022 study, a cayenne paste fermented for 21 days at 20 °C kept its capsaicinoids while lactic acid built up¹².

How do you pick and store fresh cayenne?

Cut the pods off red, keep them cool and moist, and use them within a few weeks. Clemson and Virginia Extension both cover the harvest end of the season:

Clemson puts fridge humidity at 80 to 90 % and Virginia at 95 %⁹¹³, so a loosely closed bag in the crisper drawer works better for you than an open shelf. Whole pods also freeze well: NMSU keeps frozen chiles up to 12 months at 0 °F or below, in packs no deeper than 2 inches¹⁴.

How do you dry and grind your own cayenne?

Dry your red pods whole, condition them for a week, then grind. NMSU's food drying guide says ripe red chiles need no blanching and dry in about 4 to 8 hours in an oven or dehydrator¹¹.

1. 1

   Wash and leave whole

   Wash the ripe red pods and leave them whole, stems on. Red chiles need no blanching.¹¹

2. 2

   String or tray them

   Thread whole pods on a cord with a needle and hang them in a well-aired spot, or lay them in a thin layer on trays. NMSU doesn't recommend sun drying for vegetables.¹¹

3. 3

   Oven or dehydrator

   Set the oven to its lowest setting but no lower than 140–150 °F, keep an electric oven door open at least an inch, and swap the trays top to bottom halfway. Expect about 4 to 8 hours.¹¹

4. 4

   Check for doneness

   Dried red chiles look shrunken and dark red and still bend a little; NMSU expects red pods to stay flexible, unlike dried green chile, which turns brittle.¹¹

5. 5

   Condition for a week

   Keep the dried pods in a cloth sack or a clear covered jar for a week, shaking a sack daily. Beads of moisture on the jar mean they need more drying.¹¹

6. 6

   Grind and store

   Grind in a spice grinder, wearing gloves, and let the dust settle before you open the lid. Store in airtight bags inside lidded containers, cool, dark and dry.¹¹¹⁵

If you want a milder powder, pull the ribs before you grind; they hold about 89 % of the capsaicin¹⁶. Grind them in and you get the hottest powder your pods can give.

What goes wrong with homemade cayenne?

Most problems you'll run into trace back to moisture, ribs or dust:

• Mold or a musty smell in the jar. The pods went in before they fully dried. That week of conditioning catches it: moisture beads on the jar mean back to the oven¹¹.
• Pods scorched brown in the oven. Your oven ran too hot. NMSU sets the floor at 140–150 °F, and you want drying, not roasting¹¹.
• The powder is hotter than store cayenne. You ground the ribs in, and your pods may simply run hot; heat shifts with weather and growing conditions⁷. Blend with a milder dried chile, or pull ribs next time¹⁶.
• Water doesn't stop the burn after a cayenne-heavy dish. Capsaicin dissolves in fat, not water¹⁶, so a sip of milk helps you more than a glass of water¹⁵.
• Powder in your eyes or a coughing fit. Poison Control advises flushing an eye with plenty of warm water for 15 minutes, and warns that breathing capsaicin can trigger asthma in some people¹⁵.

What can you use instead of cayenne?

The tabasco pepper is the closest match on heat, at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU against cayenne's 25,000 to 50,000¹; you can line up the tabasco and cayenne pair for flavor and use. It's a different species, C. frutescens, so you'll taste a small shift in flavor.

Which one you reach for depends on your dish. Here are the swaps, with the amounts worked from the UF/IFAS ranges:

For your dry rub or chili, a hotter dried chile in a smaller amount keeps the texture right. For a fresh salsa, a serrano or two gives you heat without a powdery taste. Milder and drier options, with amounts for powder and fresh pods, are in the cayenne substitute guide.

Can you grow cayenne?

Yes, and it's one of the easier hot peppers to fit into your season: most hot types ripen 70 to 85 days after transplanting⁴, against 90 to 120 for habaneros. Virginia Extension notes cayenne-group peppers can come off the plant green or red⁹, though only the red ones make red powder.

In your bed, Clemson spaces plants 12 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart and waits for the last frost to pass before planting¹³. If nematodes knot your tomato roots every year, a resistant line such as NuMex Nematador can save you a season⁷. Start your seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before you plan to set plants out, since Virginia Extension sets out transplants of that age once the soil has warmed⁹. If your flowers drop in July, look at your night temperatures before you blame the plant: nights above 75 °F cause blossom drop, and fruit sets again when they cool⁹. The cayenne growing guide picks it up from there.