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Paprika[n 1] is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers,Capsicum annuum. It can have varying levels ofheat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to producechili powder. The milder, sweet paprika is mostly composed of the fruit of the pepper with most of the seeds removed; whereas some seeds and stalks are retained in the peppers used for hotter paprika.
Paprika, like all capsicum varieties and their derivatives, is descended from wild ancestors from theAmazon River, cultivated in ancient times in South, Central and North America, particularly incentral Mexico. The peppers were introduced to Europe viaSpain andPortugal in the 16th century. The trade in paprika expanded from theIberian Peninsula to Africa and Asia and ultimately reached central Europe through the Balkans.
European cuisines in which paprika is a frequent and major ingredient include those of Hungary, Spain and Portugal; it is also found in many French and German dishes. It is widely used in North Africa and the Middle East.
Paprika is a spice made from dried and powdered red peppers.[1] It is traditionally made fromCapsicum annuum varietals in the Longumgroup, includingchili peppers.[1] Red peppers grow in the wild in Mexico, where they were being gathered and eatenc.7000 BC, and were cultivated there before 3500 BC.[2] The food writerAlan Davidson comments thatChristopher Columbus probably came across them on his first voyage in 1492, and may have brought plants back to Europe. The Spaniards and Portuguese also took them to India and south-east Asia and they were quickly taken up and grown in the Middle East, the Balkans and Europe – to Italy by 1526, Germany by 1543 and known in Hungary by 1569.[2][3]
Paprika was also taken up in theOttoman Empire, which for much of the 16th and 17th centuries, ruled the central region of Hungary. The long period of Turkish presence introduced several foodstuffs to the region, includingfilo pastry (which evolved into thestrudel),pilafs,pitta bread and paprika.[4] The plant used to make the Hungarian version of the spice was first grown in 1569.Central European paprika washot until the 1920s, when aSzeged breeder found a plant that produced sweet fruit, which he grafted onto other plants.[5] According toGeorge Lang in hisCuisine of Hungary (1994), the earliest reference to paprika peppers in a Hungarian dictionary was in 1604, when the name used wasTörök-bors (Turkish pepper).[1][6] The name "paprika" did not come into currency in Hungary until 1775,[2] when J. Csapé, in hisHerbarium, called it "paprika garden pepper".[6]
The first recorded use of the wordpaprika in English is from 1830.The Times mentioned "A' borsos levecskét – the pepper soup, orpaprika soup, made of the capsicum annuum of Linne ... a favourite dish among the Magyars, Turks, and Servians".[7] InSpices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen (1970),Elizabeth David notes that in cookery books of theEdwardian era, paprika is sometimes referred to as "Krona pepper".[8]
The word paprika is fromHungarianpaprika, a diminutive fromSerbo-Croatianpapar (pepper), which in turn was derived from theLatinpiper or modernGreekpiperi.[1][3] "Paprika" and similar words, including "peperke", "piperke" and "paparka", are used in various languages for peppers.[9]
Paprika can have varying levels ofheat, but the chili peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to producechili powder.[10] Sweet paprika is mostly composed of thepericarp, with more than half of the seeds removed; hot paprika contains some seeds, stalks,ovules andcalyces.[9] Whether paprika is red, orange, or yellow depends on its mix ofcarotenoids.[11] Yellow-orange shades of paprika derive primarily fromα-carotene andβ-carotene (provitamin A compounds),zeaxanthin,lutein andβ-cryptoxanthin; reds derive fromcapsanthin andcapsorubin.[11] One study found high concentrations ofzeaxanthin in orange paprika.[12] The same study found that orange paprika contains much more lutein than red or yellow paprika.[12]
Paprika is produced in various places, including Argentina, Mexico, Serbia, the Netherlands, China and the United States, but the two best-known producers are Hungary and Spain.[13]
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Hungary is a major source of paprika, and it is the spice most closely associated with Hungary.[14] Lang lists and characterises the commercial grades of Hungarian paprika as:[6]
Davidson comments that the five are in descending order of excellence.[2]
The two principal growing areas in Hungary are in the south of the country, one around the city ofSzeged and the other inKalocsa, on theDanube.[2]
Pimentón is a powdered spice produced in Spain from the small round fruits of several varieties of capsicum annuum. According to theOxford Companion to Food:
it may reasonably be regarded as a Spanish version of paprika: it is almost sweet in taste and it is used both as a colouring agent and as a spice in itself. It is added to seafood, sausages, rice, and many other savoury dishes.[2]
There are three versions of Spanish paprika: mild (pimentón dulce), mildly spicy (pimentón agridulce) and spicy (pimentón picante). The most common,pimentón dela Vera, has a distinct smoky taste and smell, as it is dried bysmoking, typically usingoak wood. Currently, according to the Denomination of Origin Regulation Council (Consejo Regulador de la DOP "Pimentón de La Vera"), the crop of La Vera paprika covers around 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) and has an annual production of 4.5 million kg (5,000 short tons), certified as Denomination of Origin.[15]Pimentón deMurcia is an unsmoked variety made with bola/ñora peppers and traditionally dried in the sun or in kilns.[16]
Paprika is used as an ingredient throughout the world in dishes such as rice, stews and soups and in the preparation of sausages, mixed with meats and other spices.[2]
Hungary's best-known national dishes both incorporate paprika: a meat soup,gulyás, and a stew internationally known asgoulash but called in Hungarypörkölt,porkélt orpaprikas.[17][18]Paprikash, a sauce combining paprika, onions and sour cream, is used in chicken and veal dishes and with savoury crèpes.[19] David comments on paprika:
In a 2016 study Zsuzsa Gille writes that paprika is:
InSpanish cuisine, paprika is an essential ingredient ofchorizo pork sausages. In contrast to the less well-known chorizo from the French side of thePyrenees, which is traditionally spiced withpiment d'Espelette, Spanish chorizos are spiced withpimentón. The sausage may be mild or spicy depending on the type of paprika used.[21]Valencianpaella uses both paprika andsaffron in the mix of rice, meat and vegetables.[22] Paprika features inBasque cuisine. David instancesMoules au riz à la Basquaise (mussels with spiced rice, Basque style) andFaisan au riz Basquais (pheasant with spiced rice).[23] Insofrito, the aromatic mixture of diced vegetables used as the basis of many stews and casseroles, Spanish cooks typically add paprika to the mix.[24]
InPortuguese cuisine, where it is known ascolorau, paprika plays an important part. It accounts for the orange shade and piquant taste of many of Portugal's pork and poultry dishes, and is similar to a hot Hungarian paprika.[25] Paprika is also much used in fish dishes includingeels,cuttlefish and the mixed fish stewcaldeirada.[26] It deepens the shade of some Portuguese cheeses,[27] and adds spice to the local equivalent of chorizo,chouriço.[28]
Paprika plays a part inFrench cuisine. In theirMastering the Art of French Cooking,Simone Beck,Louisette Bertholle andJulia Child give recipes forfricassée de poulet au paprika (chicken fricassee with paprika) andsuprêmes de volaille Archiduc (chicken breasts with paprika, onions and cream).[29] Some French dishes featuring paprika as an important ingredient are called"hongroise" (Hungarian). Most of them usesauce hongroise – chopped onions cooked with paprika and white wine – and generally have cream added to the cooked sauce. They includepotage de haricots hongroise (bean and bacon soup with paprika and sour cream),[30]anguille hongroise (eel),[31]pieds de veau à la hongroise (calves' feet),[32]oeufs hongroise (hard-boiled eggs),[33]grenouilles hongroise (frogs' legs),[34]homard hongroise (lobster),[35]sole hongroise,[36]turbot hongroise[37] andescalope de veau hongroise.[38]Pommes de terre hongroise – Hungarian potatoes – consist of large rounds of potatoes, with chopped onions, cooked in butter and paprika, with diced tomatoes and moistened withconsommé.[39]Rouille, a French sauce with paprika and garlic, is traditionally served withbouillabaisse.[40]
In German cookery, paprika is used in many dishes, from fish stews to braised duck, casseroled hare, braised veal,[41] fried goose liver, stuffed cabbage leaves, meat dumplings,[42] and beef goulash (known in German asRindergulasch).[43] According to the chefRick Stein, "The people of Vienna love goulash so much they’ve taken the Hungarian dish and made it their own. The secret is to use lots of onion". The recipe calls for both sweet and hot paprika.[44]
InMoroccan cuisine, paprika (tahmira) is much used in dishes such asbissara andchermoula.[45] In Arabian food paprika is an ingredient of the spice mixBaharat.[46] Throughout the Middle East, paprika may be sprinked ontohummus just before it is served, and it is frequently used to garnishbaba ghanoush.[47]
Paprika is little used inItalian cuisine. TheFriuli region in the north-east, a former part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire, features a spread calledLiptauer, in which saltedanchovies are mixed withricotta, butter, paprika, chopped onion and other ingredients,[48] and further south, inMolise, paprika is used in thesalamiventricina.[49] Unlike the Spanish sofrito, Italian soffrito typically uses garlic rather than paprika.[24]
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