Paprika: sweet vs hot

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Although we now associate paprika with Hungarian cooking, this bright red spice is native to the New World and was brought to Europe by Columbus. The dried and powdered form of a red pepper called Capsicum annum, paprika was introduced in Hungary during the sixteenth century. Until the nineteenth century, the spice was always hot. At that time, Hungarian spice millers developed a process to remove the seeds and veins of the fiery red peppers. Since most of a pepper's heat is concentrated in the seeds and veins, the resulting paprika was "sweet". The intensity of the paprika could be controlled by removing some or all of the veins and seeds.

In recent years, much sweet paprika has been made from a mild red pepper hybrid that can be ground whole with the seeds and veins. Most of the sweet paprika sold in this country comes from this new pepper grown in Spain and California. However, for paprika ÄÄ either sweet or hot ÄÄ with superior flavor and character, look for brands imported from Hungary.

Cook's Illustrated Charter Issue Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 12-23-94

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