The name "cayenne" was given to ground chili by Christopher Columbus. Having seen and tasted the spicy spice that the Indians add to food, he decided that this is a variety of black pepper already known in Europe at that time, and he was mistaken. Black and cayenne peppers are not "relatives", moreover, they belong to different botanical species.
Scientifically
Black pepper or, according to the scientific classification, Píper nígrum is a climbing plant, whose fruits, processed in various ways, become spices known to culinary specialists as black and white, red and green peppers. Cayenne pepper is a whole galaxy of different varieties of vegetable peppers belonging to the nightshade family, also often called hot or hot vegetable peppers.
Cayenne pepper fruits can be small to medium, ball-like, or elongated, white, red, yellow, and even black or purple. They are united by a high content of capsaicin - a substance that gives pungency and pungency to these plants. A completely different chemical, piperine, is responsible for the same properties in black pepper.
Healing properties
Native to South Asia, black pepper has been widely used in oriental medicine. At various times, it has been considered useful for constipation and diarrhea, indigestion and earache, and treating sunburn and abscesses. Traditional Indian medicine - Ayurveda - recommended black pepper in the treatment of coughs, runny nose, throat ailments. Cayenne pepper was used by the Indians to treat arthritis and muscle pain, as well as for some circulatory problems.
Modern science has proven that piperine, found in black pepper, accelerates energy metabolism in the body, acting as a thermogenic compound. It also promotes the release of serotonin and endorphins, an increase in the absorption of vitamin B, beta-carotene, selenium. Black pepper has antioxidant properties, but cayenne does not. However, the capsaicin found in cayenne pepper is also thermogenic, dilates blood vessels and speeds up metabolism by boosting metabolism. Unlike black pepper, cayenne suppresses appetite.
Cooking applications
Cayenne and black pepper are widely used in cooking. Black pepper has been known in Europe since the time of the Roman Empire and was considered the favorite ingredient of the most expensive chefs in Rome. In Asia, the history of black pepper begins in China in the 2nd century AD, where it was also the "king of dishes" for wealthy gourmets. As a result, this spice is still the most popular seasoning in these parts of the world today. It is added to almost all types of dishes, including even some desserts. Black pepper is used in soups and salads, omelets and stews, sauces and marinades, sausages and sausages are flavored with it.
Cayenne pepper "reigned" in Mexico and South America for over seven thousand years. And now in the cuisine of Mexican and South American peoples, it is more popular than black pepper. It is impossible to cook dozens of national dishes without using this type of pepper. It is added to fajitos and enchiladas, guacamole and chili con root, hot chocolate and the famous mole sauce. It, like black pepper, goes well with almost any food, but not everyone may like it, since black pepper makes dishes spicy and aromatic, and cayenne makes it hot and pungent.
