Paprika

What is paprika? The The Free Dictionary.com defines it thusly:[Hungarian, from Serbian, from papar, ground pepper, from Slavic *pipr, from Latin piper; see pepper. (For more information see FoodReference.com)

Uses and Types

I use it for Chili powder, Carne Asada, Salsa, Caribbean Jerk and Chicken Paprikash. It comes in these types:

Hungarian: sweet, hot, and smoked.
Spanish: sweet, hot and smoked.
Fancy: Used in restaurants for color.

Unfortunately, a trend in low-grade restaurants is to sprinkle it on the rim of the plate along with parsley. This is a sure sign you should eat elsewhere. They probably also have a three-foot pepper mill.

Here’s a good pepper guide if you’re new to peppers.

Homemade for chili:

Common peppers used are: New Mexican, ancho, cascabel, arbol, cayenne and chipotles if you can find them. Equal parts except for the cayenne. You can always add cayenne powder or fresh hot peppers later and leave this powder somewhat mild.

My latest mix has been 3 anchos and 3 new Mexicans.
Buy them dried, make sure they still have a bit of moisture, if they crumble when touched they’re too dry.

Cut them and remove the stem and seeds, heat them in the oven in 5 minutes at 300 degrees. Let them cool a few minutes and then grind them in a blender or coffee grinder used just for spices. The closer to cooking time you grind them the better the taste.

If you store it in freezer don’t forget it when going to a competition!

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