Sweet paprika is made from dried bell peppers and used in many cuisines around the world. It varies in flavor and is high in vitamin C. Hungary, South America, and Spain are the main producers. Hungarian paprika is the most commonly used, while Spanish paprika can have a smoky flavor. Paprika production was first recorded by the Turks in 1529.
Spicy sweet paprika is made using one or more variations of dried bell pepper, also known as capsicum. It is used as a cooking ingredient in different cultures around the world. In some languages, “paprika” means pepper itself. There are many varieties of paprika, ranging from mild and sweet to smoky, hot and pungent. Sweet paprika is the most common form of spice and is often labeled paprika.
Sweet paprika is made by removing the seeds from specific types of red or orange peppers, then drying them in the sun, in ovens or over fires before grinding them. The result is a bright red or orange powder used to flavor or accent dishes. Hotter or hottest paprika can be identified by its pale red or brown color.
Cuisines around the world use sweet paprika to flavor soups, stews and rice dishes. It is also used to make sausages and meats. Paprika is potentially high in vitamin C. Commercial processes, however, tend to leach the vitamins from peppers. Paprika made from sun-dried peppers will have six to nine times the vitamin C as an equal amount of tomatoes.
Sweet paprika will vary slightly in flavor depending on the peppers used. Like the grapes used to create wine, there are many sweet pepper cultivars used to create sweet paprika, each grown in different climates and countries. The main producers of paprika are Hungary, South America and Spain.
Hungarian paprika is the most commonly used paprika. It comes in a wide variety, but sweet paprika versions are limited to Noble Sweet or Édesnemes, Half Sweet or Félédes, and Különleges or Special Quality, which is the sweetest and sweetest of the varieties. Noble Sweet is the most exported Hungarian paprika.
Spanish paprika comes in three varieties. The mildest type, pimentón dulce, is considered sweet. Some Spanish paprikas have a distinctly smoky flavor due to the way the peppers are dried. Paprika is also produced in Holland, Turkey, Yugoslavia and the United States.
The production of paprika was first recorded by the Turks in 1529. The peppers used for paprika, however, arrived via trade routes from the New World. Residents of North and South America have long used crushed and dried peppers as an ingredient in both food and medicine.
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