Differing Paprikas

How many different paprika do you have in your pantry? I have sweet Spanish paprika, Hungarian sweet paprika, and smoked Spanish paprika. (no hot paprika yet) Looking at Penzey's catalog they have Hungarian Sweet Kulonleges Paprika, Hungarian Half-Sharp Paprika, Californian Sweet Paprika. I didn't see any HOT Paprika, nor was there any Spanish paprika. I often see recipes that call for hot, but never got around to buying any. I have quite a lot of mild to hot ground New Mexico chilies and usually just use that instead of buying another paprika. I am not sure just how much difference there is between the paprikas from around the world but unless different peppers are used in different countries, I would guess not a lot of difference.

Anyway, I am making an oxtail stew today and the recipe calls for hot paprika, and I will sub the ground Chiles, but I guess I will search out some hot paprika. How about you?

One of the shops I hold dearest to my heart is on Tel Aviv's Levinsky Street. Tis a spice shop and he offers no less than 18 different forms of paprika. After diligent research on my part, six of those are permanent parts of my spice cupboard. And on occasional visits to the spice market in Istanbul those are supplemented by another two or three.

Daniel, if you can tell me what these 6 are I will try to Google them and if possible buy them online. IMO one can't have to many herbs and spices so long as they add something to a dish.

[Jenise]

I have three: Hungarian sweet and Hungarian half-sharp (plenty hot), both from Penzey's, and a Spanish smoked. Note: if you buy the supermarket Szeged brand of Hungarian sweet paprika do NOT fool yourself into thinking you're getting the true Hungarian experience. YOU'RE NOT. Penzey's comes much closer, but the stuff I brought home from Hungary a few years ago was much better, incredible stuff, pungent and round and soft like 00 flour--I've never found it's equal here in the U.S. ALSO (ahem, as long as I'm getting preachy I may as well run with it) if your current supply of Paprika is more than a season old it has already lost at least half its potency--paprika is a spice that should be replaced annually. Note the color--when you bought it, flaming bright red, but now, a bit faded. Well let me tell you that color MATTERS--when the color fades, the flavor does likewise but even more so. Homeland Security should have a Paprika Squad to enforce this. I would suggest that it's a misdemeanor offense. However, if you have McCormick brand paprika in your cupboard AND it's over a year old (I can't tell you how many kitchens I go into that have five or ten year old jars of McCormick paprika)--well, that's a felony.

Harrumph.

I have several types of paprika, smoked, hot, sweet, most from Penzey, the smoked is from LaTienda. I go through my spices and herbs yearly and have discarded all the grocery store types. I buy in bulk, use the Food Saver to seal all my spices and herbs, while keeping a handy supply in small jars in my spice cabinet. When the jars run out, I replace from the sealed bulk packages. The sealed packages are kept in a dark, cool cabinet, and last well over a year with no reduction of quality. Two years ago, I bought spearmint in bulk, way too much (a typo on my part) so I sealed the original package in a Food Saver bag. I just opened it in January to check for quality and was blown away by the strong spearmint odor, just like it was when I bought it. I'm sure I will need to discard most of it before I can use it up.

I have the Spanish smoked and the Half-Sharp from Penzeys. The sweet is part of my current order.

I love Paprika and I often toss it into a dish (soup or stew) if it "needs something."

I went through a phase of putting smoked paprika in everything but then I decided you just tasted it too much, no matter how little you used. That smoke just shines through everything.

Now I'm mostly using hot or sweet. And as Jenise says, the "half sharp" from Penzeys is as hot as you need.

Ladies, and Gents, I will take your advice and order some from Penzey's as well as looking into some other sources. Might just do a taste off. Seriously, I started this thread due to the recipe that called for both sweet and hot paprika, which got me to thinking. (I don't do much of that anymore )

Bob! Looks like a milestone!!

Bob Henrick
Wine guru

Posts: 3333
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:35 pm
Location: Lexington, Ky.

* Private message


Three Three Three Three!!

We keep three, sweet, smoked, and hot on hand. The first two are from Penseys' and the third is Szegeo. Have had the latter for some time, so don't know how hot it still is. Will have to give it a go.

Bob! Looks like a milestone!!
Bob Henrick
Wine guru

Posts: 3333
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:35 pm
Location: Lexington, Ky.

* Private message

Three Three Three Three!!

Frank, I hadn't noticed that, thanks for the heads up, and I guess this one gets me off the threes.

I have Penzey's Hungary Sweet, Penzey's Spanish Smoked, and a tin I brought back from Budapest: Kalocsa kornyeki csemege fuszerPaprika orlemeny csipossegmentes

(which means "mild sweet paprika from Kalocsa")

We also just stick to 3 -sweet Hungarian, hot, and smoked (pimenton). I agree with Frank that the pimenton is best if used occasionally. But I think in certain situations it's indispensable (I once tried my favorite cauliflower recipe in the world with sweet rather than smoked, never again).

We also just stick to 3 -sweet Hungarian, hot, and smoked (pimenton). I agree with Frank that the pimenton is best if used occasionally. But I think in certain situations it's indispensable (I once tried my favorite cauliflower recipe in the world with sweet rather than smoked, never again).

So Dale, lets hear about that cauliflower recipe. I like the vegetable but somehow don't eat it very often. I like it steamed but not overly soft, while it is steaming I brown some butter, and when the cauliflower is done al dente, I break it apart and sprinkle heavily with italian seasoned bread crumbs, then pour the browned butter over it and the bread crumbs. YUM!

So Dale, lets hear about that cauliflower recipe!

Actually incredibly simple. Steam cauliflower (I use microwave). Sautee some onion with a dried chile. Add some garlic and tomatoes, and some liquid. Add the cauliflower (crumbled) to the sauce, with some pimenton. Season, eat. Delicious and damn near fool proof (I'm a fool,so should know).

Bob, Penzeys does have Spanish Paprika...go to this link.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysspanishpaprika.html

[Jenise]

I went through a phase of putting smoked paprika in everything but then I decided you just tasted it too much, no matter how little you used. That smoke just shines through everything.

I did too. It's the "new toy" syndrome, went through it with truffle oil and a number of other things that I now use less often but can't imagine my pantry without.

Bob, Penzeys does have Spanish Paprika...go to this link.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysspanishpaprika.html

I don't know how I missed that Drew. I will add it to my next order.

Last time I was in NY, I purchased a small bag of Hungarian Sweet paprika from Kalustyan's. Fabulous quality! Way better than what come in tins.

I also have sweet and smoked Spanish paprika. The quality varies all over the map from brand to brand.