Smoked paprika, also known as pimenton, is one of the most popular and flavorful varieties of paprika. Pimenton, which means pepper in Spanish, comes from the same plant that is used to make paprika, but it is smoked rather than being dried or powdered.
Smoked paprika has a deep red color and a distinct smoky flavor that will help you make a variety of dishes in your kitchen. It works best when cooked in recipes where it can be stirred into melted butter, oil or other liquid before adding other ingredients to make a sauce or marinade.
Smoked paprika, or pimenton as it’s known in Spain, is created by drying red peppers over oak wood fires. This process gives the paprika a smoky flavor that adds depth and complexity to recipes.
Tinned smoked paprika is very different from the type you’ll find in most American supermarkets. In fact, many recipes calling for pimenton actually mean smoked paprika.
Pimenton is available in three varieties: sweet, bittersweet and hot. Of these, the most commonly used is the bittersweet variety because its smoke flavor doesn’t overwhelm other ingredients. The hot variety has an intense smokiness with a hint of heat; it’s not just spicy but flavorful too.
Tinned smoked paprika will keep for up to one year if stored at room temperature. If you want to store pimenton longer than that, transfer it to an airtight container and freeze it. Frozen-then-thawed pimenton can lose some flavor but still be usable in recipes.”
Smoked paprika is made by drying red peppers in the sun. Then they are smoked over oak wood, giving them a distinct flavor. Smoked paprika is used in Spanish and Mexican cuisines.
The name of this spice comes from the Spanish word pimenta which means pepper. The peppers used in making smoked paprika are called Pimenta dioica or sweet peppers.
Smoked paprika is available in two forms, hot and sweet. The hotter variety is called Pimenton picante. It is often used in Spanish cuisine to add flavor to meats such as chicken, pork and beef dishes. Pimenton dulce can be used in desserts to add sweetness to a dish or it can be sprinkled on top of breads and pizzas before baking.”
Taste:slightly smoky, sweet, earthy and spicy
Paprika is a kind of powder made from the pods of bell peppers. Some paprikas are made from sweet peppers, and others from hot peppers. The flavor is different in the two cases; hot paprika is hotter than sweet paprika. But the color is a stable bright red, whether it comes from sweet or hot peppers.
Taste and color are what make paprika useful as food. There are many kinds of peppers besides bell peppers, and they don’t all taste alike. The kind most often used to make paprika is called “pimento”, but there are many other kinds, some of which taste very differently. Smoked paprika has a very different flavor again. And there are many kinds of smoked paprika.
Paprika can be used as an ingredient in cooking; for example, it’s often used as a pepper substitute in things like deviled eggs or potato salad, because it has similar flavors but more intense color and better texture. In other dishes it can be used as an ingredient in larger amounts — for example, marinades for meats like chicken or fish — but it’s better not to use too much at once because the taste can get overwhelming.
Taste: you can buy mild sweet smoked paprika
Paprika is the powder made from grinding dried sweet red peppers. It is the most popular spice in Hungary and is used throughout Eastern Europe, especially in goulash. In Spain paprika is known as pimenton and it is used in Spanish and Mexican cooking. The spice is also a favorite ingredient of Southwestern US cooking, especially chili con carne.
Paprika comes in three varieties: sweet (mildly spicy), bittersweet (strongly spicy) or hot. The meal is often blended with other spices and ingredients such as garlic, sugar and salt to create different flavors.
The word paprika comes from the Hungarian word that means pepper and it was first cultivated in the 16th century.
Pimenton, also known as Spanish paprika, is a mild to moderately spicy powder made from ground red peppers. The ingredient is a key part of Mediterranean cuisine and central to the cuisines of Spain and Portugal.
First produced in Spain, pimentón is prepared by drying whole red peppers. Then the peppers are slowly turned during sun-drying to ensure an even color and flavor.
A crucial ingredient in many paella recipes, pimenton is an essential ingredient in Spanish cuisine. In addition to being a traditional spice, it can also be used as a garnish for soups, stews and rice dishes. It can also be used to add color and flavor to foods such as fish, meat or eggs.
Pimentón comes in several varieties — sweet (dulce), hot (picante) and bittersweet (agridulce). Dulce has a mild flavor with notes of pepper, while picante is sharper with hints of fruitiness and agridulce is considered the strongest flavored variety.
Smoked paprika is made from the pods of sweet peppers. These are dried over a wood fire, which imparts a smoky flavor and a deep red color to the finished product.
It’s not easy to grow peppers in my area, so I’m lucky to find it at all; fortunately, it keeps almost indefinitely if stored properly. The flavor is wonderfully complex, unlike anything else you can get in this country. A lot of cooks consider it a spice; I think it’s more like an ingredient that makes other spices taste better.
The best introduction I know to it is the little barbecued chicken recipe that follows, with its tasty sauce. If you have never cooked with smoked paprika before, this is a good place to start; even if you’re not normally fond of sweet Hungarian paprika (you may have tried it on bad pizza), this will win you over.
