Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogel Bomb here. For some people,
Speaker 1: their only experience with paprika is a half hearted sprinkle
Speaker 1: of bland, reddish powder on top of deviled eggs or
Speaker 1: potato salad. Others are familiar with it from classic Hungarian
Speaker 1: dishes like chicken peppercosh or gulash. But have you ever
Speaker 1: wondered what paprika is and where it comes from? Paprika,
Speaker 1: which is a Hungarian word for pepper, comes from capsicum
Speaker 1: and um varieties of red peppers, related to bell peppers
Speaker 1: and chili peppers. They grow long and bright red, with
Speaker 1: flavors ranging from bitter to sweet to hot and fruity
Speaker 1: and vegetab flavors too. The peppers are harvested, dried, and
Speaker 1: ground into a fine powder that's paprika. In making smoked paprika,
Speaker 1: the peppers are dried over a wood fire, adding to
Speaker 1: their flavor. Using paprika in cooking is prevalent throughout Central Europe, Spain,
Speaker 1: and Portugal, but it's wildly popular in Hungary, where it's
Speaker 1: known as the national spice. There's even a paprika museum
Speaker 1: there and it's not unusual to find some twenty varieties
Speaker 1: in grocery stores, ranging from bitter sweet, too very sweet, mild,
Speaker 1: too extra hot, and fine ground to course. There are
Speaker 1: eight different grades in all. But why is Hungry so
Speaker 1: well known for paprika? Interestingly, paprika peppers weren't introduced to
Speaker 1: the region until after Christopher Columbus returned from the Americas.
Speaker 1: The peppers were native to Central America and made their
Speaker 1: way to Hungary through the Balkans. Over the years, the
Speaker 1: peppers took root in southern Hungary, where the region's cool
Speaker 1: climate helped the peppers retain their natural sweetness. Because the
Speaker 1: plants were so abundant, the spice became inexpensive to produce,
Speaker 1: and unlike imported spices like black peppercorns, pretty much everyone
Speaker 1: could afford it. Spanish paprika, called pimenton, comes in three
Speaker 1: basic varieties sweet, butter, sweet, or hot, and they're so
Speaker 1: often smoked that the packing doesn't always mention it. It's
Speaker 1: a key ingredient in charizo and in dishes like paia
Speaker 1: and romesco sauce. Just because paprika is the same rich
Speaker 1: color as chili powder doesn't mean you can use the
Speaker 1: seasons interchangeably, though in many cases the seasoning that's labeled
Speaker 1: chili powder is a blend of spices, including garlic powder,
Speaker 1: human black pepper, and various powdered chilies. The chili's heat
Speaker 1: or sweetness could be very different from the paprika called
Speaker 1: for by your recipe, So when a recipe calls for paprika,
Speaker 1: it's best to use actual paprika. You want to buy
Speaker 1: your paprika from a place that has a good turnover
Speaker 1: in spices, Otherwise you don't know how long it's been
Speaker 1: sitting there. For the article, this episode is based on
Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Spoke with Nancy Waldeck, chef, cookbook author
Speaker 1: and food educator. She said the red and red orange
Speaker 1: ground spices have a lot of natural oil in them.
Speaker 1: They will go bad quicker than other spices. It's best
Speaker 1: to keep paprika in a dark jar in a cool
Speaker 1: place and not near the stove. Heat isn't good for
Speaker 1: it either. If it doesn't smell good and it's brown
Speaker 1: when you open it, it's dust. It's no longer paprika.
Speaker 1: The good thing about paprika is that's inexpensive and easy
Speaker 1: to replace, and just don't buy a ginormous package, and
Speaker 1: this is a case where buying smaller is better. Today's
Speaker 1: episode is based on the article Paprika is Way more
Speaker 1: Than just Deviled egg dust on how stuff works dot com,
Speaker 1: written by Patty Resmussen. To learn more about Paprika, check
Speaker 1: out the episode we did on one of my other podcasts, Saver.
Speaker 1: So we published an episode about it called a Peppering
Speaker 1: of Paprika in March of nineteen. Brain Stuff is production
Speaker 1: of by Heart Radio in partnership with howstuff works dot Com,
Speaker 1: and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.