Let's clear up a misconception: cayenne pepper is not a pepper, as is often said, but a chili pepper from the capsicum family. Its name comes from the city of Cayenne, located in French Guiana.

Cayenne pepper doesn't have a particular taste, but once in your mouth it's particularly ruthless; you shouldn't mess with it. In fact, on the Scoville scale, it ranks at 8, which is quite high and probably explains why it's often used as a repellent in liquid form.

In cooking, it is of course used to add spice to sauces, soups, broths and other liquid preparations, as well as to meat and fish. It is found in many spice blends, just to give them a little body.