Chili pepper

Chili pepper is a Capsicum fruit, dried or fresh, used for heat and color. FDA’s GRAS spice list gives several common names from the same genus, not one bag:

• Capsicum, cayenne pepper, and pepper, cayenne / pepper, red — Capsicum frutescens L. or Capsicum annuum L.
• Paprika — Capsicum annuum L. only

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Those names are legal spice identities, not a Scoville chart. Paprika in that list is C. annuum; cayenne/red pepper may be C. frutescens or C. annuum. A sweet paprika and a hot cayenne can share a species and still be different foods.

This is not Black pepper (Piper nigrum on the same list). It is not Gochugaru by default. Gochugaru is a Korean chili powder with a specific grind and use in Kimchi; UGA Extension treats it as the heat and red color of typical baechu kimchi, not a generic flake ². If a formula names gochugaru, do not swap “chili powder” and call it the same paste.

What to notice #

Dried chili should smell fruity and dusty-sweet, or sharp, depending on the lot — not musty. Color is not a heat meter: paprika can be brick-red and mild. Taste a pinch on the tongue for delayed burn versus immediate; that is capsaicin behavior, not a number. In a ferment, chili is flavor and color. Salt remains the safety lever in Lacto-fermentation. Seasoning and Tasting are the skills.