Capsicum annuum

Paprika or pimenton is one of the most important ingredients in Spanish cuisine.

It is said that Christopher Columbus brought back the paprika from his second voyage and served it to Ferdinand and Isabella in Extremadura. Although the paprika was a little too hot and spicy for the king and queen, the monks from the monastery in Guadalupe sent it to other monks and thus spread the paprika throughout Spain.

There are several types of paprika - sweet, hot, smoked or a combination of the above.

FLAVOR

Spanish paprika belongs to medium hot paprikas and is hotter than the Hungarian one.

USED ARE whole dried or in powder form.

PURCHASE AND STORAGE

Store in a closed and dry place.

USE IN COOKING

Ground paprika is made from dried red chili peppers. Paprika is so important to Spanish cuisine that some of them bear the DO label - denomination of origin.

They use it in everything from chorizo sausage to chilindron sauce (a tomato sauce popular in Spain and Latin America), even sprinkled on octopus and fried eggs.

In world cuisine, it is used to season grilled meat, beef and lamb stews, and even kebabs, and you can add it to potatoes or season hummus spread with it.

GOOD WITH meat dishes and meat products, sauces, salads, vegetables, soups, potatoes, eggs, seafood, garlic, cheese.