Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
Paprika is used in all sorts of cuisines, which is why it’s such a must-have spice in the kitchen. It has caused a bit of a commotion on social media recently, with many people shocked and even disappointed by how paprika is produced.
Nutra Organic, an Australian Instagram influencer, decided to do some research and posed this comment, “Learning that paprika is just dried and crushed red capsicum was really shocking. I don’t know why I thought there was a paprika tree somewhere.”
Many people had a similar thought – you mean there’s no paprika tree? Sadly, there is not.
Red capsicum is a sweet and mild pepper. It is dried, crushed, and ground in order to produce paprika.
The confusion about the origins of the spice is because many people thought it was a distinct plant. Instead, it is simply sourced from a pepper.
In order to get the paprika bright red, the peppers are harvested when they turn red. This is what allows the peak flavor and sweetness to be achieved.
In most instances, the capsicum peppers are air-dried or placed through a dehydration machine. Once sufficiently dried, it is ground into a fine powder. This means that people, should they want to, can make their own paprika.
It’s probably easier to store buy it, and you may want to always have some on hand, whether it’s to use in a spice blend, as part of a stew or marinade, or even to sprinkle on your dish as part of the garnish.