Paprika

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Spanish Paprika

Spanish Paprika
© Denzil Green

bullet point Hungarian Pepper

Paprika is a bright red dried spice made from ground sweet red peppers, mostly of Hungarian-developed varieties.

The pepper plants grow up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall and produce green or yellow pods as "fruit" which turn red as they ripen. After being harvested, they are left out in the sun to dry, or factory dried. They are smaller, longer and more pointed than regular peppers and can be very hot by European standards (though not by Mexican.)

Most of the heat is in the core and the seeds. In 1859, a process was created to remove the core and the seeds (wimps), allowing just the pepper flesh to be retained and be ground for the spice. When the core and seeds are removed, the peppers are washed, cut up, and cooked quickly under pressure. The pepper pulp is then removed from the cooking process, dried and then into powder.

Hungarian Paprika

Hungarian Paprika
© Denzil Green

You mostly use Paprika for the "look." It is so mild that it doesn't really have any taste, though in the 1950s and 1960s it was considered quite adventuresome. The red flecks that you sometimes see in Miracle Whip are Paprika.

Hungarian Paprika is considered better than Spanish. Considering neither really has any discernible taste, that judgement appears to be mostly based on how red the Paprika is.

Cooking Tips for Paprika

Use Paprika as a garnish on potato salad, devilled eggs -- any kind of pale food.


Paprika contains small amounts of natural sugar (about 6%) from the pepper it was made from. If heating Paprika on its own in a frying pan, such as when starting a curry, etc, heat it for no more than a few seconds or the sugar can turn bitter.

History Notes for Paprika

The Turks brought the Paprika pepper plants to Hungary in the 1600s, to be used as a medicine. The Turks acquired theirs via South American and Spanish trade.
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Also called:
Capsicum tetragonum (Scientific Name); Paprika (French); Paprika (German); Paprika (Spanish); Paprica, Pimenta de Espanha (Portuguese); Deghi mirch (Indian)
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