Flavor description
This spice is made from the same sweet red peppers that are found in stuffed olives or used to make pimiento cheese.
The flavor can range from mild to sweet to hot, based on how the peppers are processed:
Regular/plain paprika: Very mild in taste with a slightly bitter flavor. There's no detectable sweetness or heat, making it a good garnish for everything from deviled eggs to hummus.
Hungarian paprika is known for its high quality and rich flavor.
Hungarian regular/plain paprika: The label for this product will not specify sweet or hot--it's just a high-quality regular paprika.
Hungarian sweet: This type of paprika has a slightly lingering flavor of sweet red peppers with a pleasant bitterness.
Hungarian hot: Rich flavor of sweet red peppers, with subtle heat that remains constant without increasing in intensity. There's no detectable bitterness.
Spanish smoked paprika comes either dolce (sweet), agridulce (semisweet), or picante (hot). Look for brands that come from La Vera--the climate and the process of smoke-drying produce the highest quality Spanish paprika.
Spanish sweet smoked paprika: Deep smoky flavor and slight sweetness with very little bitterness.
Spanish semisweet smoked paprika: Oaky, lingering smoke flavor with a fair amount of bitterness.
Spanish hot smoked paprika: Not as spicy as Hungarian hot paprika. The smoky flavor provides a nice balance to temper the heat and bitter flavor.
How to use
All kinds of paprika are good in spice rubs for meat, barbecue sauces, stews, chilis, and soups--just choose the particular flavor profile you're after. Store all types of paprika in a cool, dark place for up to six months.
How to find
Look in your supermarket's spice aisle for sweet and hot paprika. For smoked paprika, visit a Latin market, or order from www.ethnicgrocer.com or www.cybercucina.com.
Related Recipes
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Grilled Pork Chops with Sweet Peach Sauce
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