Most American’s probably think of paprika as that red spice sprinkled on top of deviled eggs, but it is much more important than that, especially in Hungary. Does Hungarian goulash ring a bell? Hungary produces the best paprika in the world. In fact, the Hungarians are very, very picky about their paprika. They have a saying, “One paprika for the mother-in-law, another for the mother, a third for the wife.”
Paprika is made from ground and dried chile peppers, or capsicum annuum, which originated in southern Mexico. The seeds were brought to Spain by Christopher Columbus on the Santa-Maria, and by the middle 1500s they had found their way to the Balkans and then to Hungary. In Hungary, paprika found a home in the flatlands around the towns of Szeged, on the Tisza River, and Kalocsa, on the Danube. These areas have the perfect combination of soil characteristics, temperature, rainfall, and sunshine (about 200 days a year), to cultivate these plants successfully.
The best Hungarian paprika is started from seeds indoors, in March. They are put in water to germinate and then transferred to greenhouse beds. In May, small pepper shrubs are re-planted outdoors. By harvest time in September, the plants will have grown to a height of sixteen to twenty-four inches. The pepper pods are about three to five inches long and about one to one and a half inches wide. They ripen from green to yellow to bright red.
Until the mid-1800s it was difficult to control the pungency of the paprika during processing. The capsaicin, found in the veins and seeds of the peppers, is what determines the “heat” in the peppers. The seeds and veins had to be removed by hand before being crushed and ground. This process was both time-consuming and inexact. Therefore, the end result of the paprika was very unpredictable. It could either be mild or hot. In 1859, the Palfy brothers of Szeged invented a machine that eventually enabled the cultivation and production of several different strengths of paprika. The Palfy’s machine removed the veins and seeds, then ground the dried pods into powder. The millmaster could determine exactly how much capsaicin was to be removed and how much to be retained. Eventually Ferenc Horvath of Kalocsa developed the first variety of Hungarian-pepper that was sweet enough that the whole pepper could be used, since the veins and seeds contained very little capsaicin.
The hottest paprikas are not made from the reddest peppers, as one might speculate, but from the palest red and the light brown colored peppers. The following are the different types of Hungarian paprika:
* Special Quality: The mildest and brightest red of all Hungarian paprikas, with excellent aroma.
* Delicate: Ranging from light to dark red, a mild paprika with a rich flavor.
* Exquisite Delicate: Similar to Delicate, but more pungent.
* Pungent Exquisite Delicate: A yet more pungent Delicate.
* Rose: Pale red in color with strong aroma and mild pungency.
* Noble Sweet: The most commonly exported paprika; bright red and slightly pungent.
* Half-Sweet: A blend of mild and pungent paprikas; medium pungency.
* Hot: Light brown in color, this is the hottest of all the paprikas.
There are many culinary uses for paprika, not just for a topping on deviled eggs. Paprika is very high in vitamin C. It has six to nine times as much vitamin C as tomatoes by weight. In fact, Hungary’s Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyl won the Nobel Prize for discovering the vitamin C in paprika chile peppers. Paprika is the essential ingredient in paprika chicken, a very popular dish ever since French Chef Auguste Escoffier served it in Monte Carlo in 1879. Paprika goes well with any savory food, including eggs, meat, poultry, stew, wild game, fish, shellfish, soup, vegetables, rice, and creamy sauces. If using paprika in a roux, first remove the mixture from the heat and do not return it to the heat before a liquid is added, or ingredients with a high water content are added. Paprika has a high sugar content and burns easily. If paprika burns, it will turn brown and develop a bitter flavor. The main thing to remember is that paprika only releases its color and flavor when heated. So sprinkling paprika over a dish will only improve the appearance of the dish, not the flavor.
When purchasing paprika, try to find the highest quality Hungarian paprika available. Although Hungarian paprika is still considered the best, the other major producers of paprika are South America, Spain, India and California. Specialty food or spice stores should have different types of paprika, both sweet and hot. Kept in a cool, dark place, paprika retains its color and flavor for six to eight months. Kept in an airtight tin in the refrigerator is best.
This article appears in March 2024.