which paprika?

On Wed 23 Mar 2005 10:00:57a, wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet paprika?

Sweet, usually, but you might also add some of the hot, to taste. Deeper
flavor with the combination.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet paprika?

There are some 50 distinctly different kinds of Hungarian paprika, of
various gradients of heat. Blending say cayenne with sweet paprika
does not a hot paprika make.

paprika
[pa-PREE-kuh, PAP-ree-kuh]
Used as a seasoning and garnish for a plethora of savory dishes,
paprika is a powder made by grinding aromatic sweet red pepper pods.
The pods are quite tough, so several grindings are necessary to produce
the proper texture. The flavor of paprika can range from mild to
pungent and hot, the color from bright orange-red to deep blood-red.
Most commercial paprika comes from Spain, South America, California and
Hungary, with the Hungarian variety considered by many to be superior.
Indeed, Hungarian cuisine has long used paprika as a mainstay flavoring
rather than simply as a garnish. All supermarkets carry mild paprikas,
while ethnic markets must be searched out for the more pungent
varieties.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
---

Sheldon

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet paprika?

Depends on how one defines "traditional". :-) Paprika of any kind was
practically unknown and unused in Hungary until the second half of the
19th century. Of course, it has since become one of the defining
characteristics of the Hungarian cookery. There are seven major kinds
of Hungarian paprika and none are really hot - even the hotter ones are
not much hotter than ordinary black pepper: különleges ("special", only
slightly hot), csipösségmentes (not hot at all), csemege
("gastronomical", not hot), édesnemes ("noble sweet"😉, rózsa ("pink",
fairly hot), and erös (hot).

For cooking, only the sweeter varieties are supposed to be used, with
édesnemes often being preferred. The hotter varieties (rózsa and erös)
are normally added to the already cooked dishes.

It is usually a sweet variety, ideally édes-nemes, that is used in
gulyás (which, as you probably know, is a thick soup, not a stew).

Victor

Thank you for the comprehensive information -- just what I needed
to know.

Victor Sack said:

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet paprika?

Depends on how one defines "traditional". :-) Paprika of any kind was
practically unknown and unused in Hungary until the second half of the
19th century. Of course, it has since become one of the defining
characteristics of the Hungarian cookery. There are seven major kinds
of Hungarian paprika and none are really hot - even the hotter ones are
not much hotter than ordinary black pepper: különleges ("special", only
slightly hot), csipösségmentes (not hot at all), csemege
("gastronomical", not hot), édesnemes ("noble sweet"😉, rózsa ("pink",
fairly hot), and erös (hot).

For cooking, only the sweeter varieties are supposed to be used, with
édesnemes often being preferred. The hotter varieties (rózsa and erös)
are normally added to the already cooked dishes.

It is usually a sweet variety, ideally édes-nemes, that is used in
gulyás (which, as you probably know, is a thick soup, not a stew).

Victor

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Katherine Becker "As god is my witness
I thought turkeys could fly"
NEVER SEND A FERRET TO DO A WEASEL's JOB --WKRP

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet paprika?

There are some 50 distinctly different kinds of Hungarian paprika, of
various gradients of heat. Blending say cayenne with sweet paprika
does not a hot paprika make.

paprika
[pa-PREE-kuh, PAP-ree-kuh]
Used as a seasoning and garnish for a plethora of savory dishes,
paprika is a powder made by grinding aromatic sweet red pepper pods.
The pods are quite tough, so several grindings are necessary to produce
the proper texture. The flavor of paprika can range from mild to
pungent and hot, the color from bright orange-red to deep blood-red.
Most commercial paprika comes from Spain, South America, California and
Hungary, with the Hungarian variety considered by many to be superior.
Indeed, Hungarian cuisine has long used paprika as a mainstay flavoring
rather than simply as a garnish. All supermarkets carry mild paprikas,
while ethnic markets must be searched out for the more pungent
varieties.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
---

Sheldon

I will put my homemade paprika up against any from Budapest or the
surrounding region -
the stuff in the cans and jars was not close to the best I had had, so,
having some bell peers in the garden ripening, I decided to try to make my
own:

I let the pepers redden in the garden until they had the thick rich red
bell smell, then dried them in the sun under paper towel cover.
Then when they were just dry enough to grind but not dry enough to be
stale, I ground them in the oscar and put them in a tightly covered glass
jar in the refrig.
A lot more complex flavor than any hungarian that I have gotten from the
gore-met stores.

-- said:

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does traditional Hungarian goulash use hot paprika or sweet

paprika?

Quoted message said:

There are some 50 distinctly different kinds of Hungarian paprika, of
various gradients of heat. Blending say cayenne with sweet paprika
does not a hot paprika make.

paprika
[pa-PREE-kuh, PAP-ree-kuh]
Used as a seasoning and garnish for a plethora of savory dishes,
paprika is a powder made by grinding aromatic sweet red pepper pods.
The pods are quite tough, so several grindings are necessary to

produce

Quoted message said:

the proper texture. The flavor of paprika can range from mild to
pungent and hot, the color from bright orange-red to deep blood-red.
Most commercial paprika comes from Spain, South America, California

and

Quoted message said:

Hungary, with the Hungarian variety considered by many to be

superior.

Quoted message said:

Indeed, Hungarian cuisine has long used paprika as a mainstay

flavoring

Quoted message said:

rather than simply as a garnish. All supermarkets carry mild

paprikas,

Quoted message said:

while ethnic markets must be searched out for the more pungent
varieties.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE

FOOD

Quoted message said:

LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
---

Sheldon

I will put my homemade paprika up against any from Budapest or the
surrounding region -
the stuff in the cans and jars was not close to the best I had

had, so,

Quoted message said:

having some bell peers in the garden ripening, I decided to try to

make my

Quoted message said:

own:

I let the pepers redden in the garden until they had the thick rich

red

Quoted message said:

bell smell,

You can't make paprika from bell peppers.

http://tinyurl.com/4xux5

Sheldon