Hungarian paprika – The red magic

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I'm taking with me when I go.” Erma Bombeck"

The magical world of spices: The colours, the textures, so amazing, so beautiful; so easy to get inspired by them ....... we become a different person in our flavour fused kitchen while trying to cook up something rather special.

Without doubt there isn`t a Hungarian kitchen complete without this red, wonderful spice that is the paprika. For us it so much more than just a spice though; it is an essential part of our cooking, it is part of who we are.

When Hungarians mention the name paprika it means only one of two things: we either throw it fresh into soups and meat dishes and/or use it as a powder to wonderfully spice up and colour our meals.

The common, mild paprika is made from the low heat bell pepper (Capsicum annuum). Among the many different varieties the Hungarian paprika is probably the most famous. It would be unimaginable to carry out cooking without it in Hungary; it is an essential ingredient for most of our traditional dishes, with the most famous dish being the tasty Goulash of course - a mouth-watering, spicy, rich stew.

Although we regard it as our own now, the truth is that the plant was brought to Hungary by the Turks during the 16^th/17^th centuries, during their 150 years invasion. This ordinary looking plant was merely a garden decoration back then before shepherds and herdsmen -who had more direct contact with the Turkish soldiers- started using the flavoursome powder to season their meals. From then the spice found its way into the kitchen of the peasants and from there onto the aristocrat’s tables.

It is a proven fact that Hungary was the first country to use the pure paprika powder without mixing it with anything else. In Turkey as well as in Central- and South America it was solely consumed in whole. The Spanish mixed the paprika powder with other spices and substances then made it into a dough, which was later baked and grinded into a fine powder.

Hungary`s favourable climate and its ideal geographical conditions allow the paprika to develop its beautiful bright red colour and its unmistakeable, rich flavour. The heart of the production can be found in the southern towns of Kalocsa and Szeged; this area boasts the highest amount of sunshine which is crucial for our paprika production. Harvesting always comes in September; back in the old days strings of paprika were hanging under most roofs in the surrounding villages, letting the Sun to desiccate the peppers. These days massive ovens are built to do the same job, albeit in larger quantities and perhaps much faster.

The 6 most commonly used types are:

• Special quality - this is the mildest of all paprikas and has the most vibrant red colour, suitable for all tastes.
• Delicate -mild paprika with rich flavour and an inviting, delicious red colour
• Exquisite delicate –slightly more pungent than the Delicate variety.
• Special sweet – the most common type, slightly pungent with bright red colour for everyday use.
• Half-sweet - a medium-pungent paprika, delivers both succulent flavours and mouth watering colours.
• Hot – the hottest of all paprikas, light brown-orange colour, certainly not for the faint-hearted!

The compound called capsaicin is responsible for the paprika`s pungency (hotness) but in the early days of production it proved rather difficult to control it. Both the pepper`s veins and seeds contain capsaicin, which needed to be manually removed from the dried, crushed pods before the grinding process. However some capsaicin always remained in the pods, making it impossible to predict just how hot the powder will turn out to be. Thanks to some cross-breeding a sweet, non-pungent variety was then developed with no need to remove the veins and seeds.

• Make sure the paprika powder is cooked with the other ingredients and not just added at the end, otherwise you won`t get the desired flavour or colour.
• Measure the powder with a tea spoon, in this case less is more. Adding too much of the good stuff or burning it could turn the dish bitter.
• If you are still not sure whether you dare to go give it a go, you might perhaps want to try first paprika-paste products (Piros Arany – “Red Gold”, Eros Pista – Hot Paste or Edes Anna – Sweet Paste) which blend into dishes much easier than the powder but taste just as wonderful.

 A friend of the famous Hungarian –American restaurateur George Lang once asked him what he thought were the essentials of Hungarian cooking. Lang answered: sweet onions, noble paprika, butter soft bacon, thick sour cream and thousands of years of experience....