Ground cayenne is the fine, orange-red powder of dried hot Capsicum annuum chillies — the same species that gives us bell peppers and paprika, but milled from long, thin, fiery cultivars grown for heat rather than colour. It is a pure single-chilli spice, not a blend: no cumin, garlic or oregano, just dried red pepper ground to a dust that smells faintly fruity and sharply pungent and delivers a clean, penetrating burn. Where paprika colours and sweetens, cayenne's job is fire — a pinch lifts gumbo, hot sauce, dry rubs, chilli con carne and buffalo wings, and a heavier hand powers the heat of Cajun, Creole, Mexican, Indian, Sichuan and West African cooking. Confusingly, American supermarkets sell it as both "cayenne pepper" and "ground red pepper," and the same jar is often labelled simply "chili powder" abroad — though a true US chili powder is a seasoning blend, and this is the single spice.