Paprika

[oakley]

Found a pic of spice grinding from last year. I also keep mine in zip-locks and usually in the freezer. The big bag are a purchased blend from a Mexican market. The spice/coffee grinder is that little white tower on the right. It has a clear lid that grinds quickly once the lid is pressed down.
Not sure what i was making....it was a cold spring. So probably a stew.
I toast the dried peppers in a dry cast iron pan on the wood stove first for about 10 min, let cool to crisp up, then take off the stems and shake out most of the seeds.

[oakley]

oops, pic is huge...might need to scroll left and right. (still learning the pic world)

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by oakley

Found a pic of spice grinding from last year. I also keep mine in zip-locks and usually in the freezer. The big bag are a purchased blend from a Mexican market. The spice/coffee grinder is that little white tower on the right. It has a clear lid that grinds quickly once the lid is pressed down.
Not sure what i was making....it was a cold spring. So probably a stew.
I toast the dried peppers in a dry cast iron pan on the wood stove first for about 10 min, let cool to crisp up, then take off the stems and shake out most of the seeds.

Neat pic! Thanks for sharing it.

I wonder if I wouldn't be better off trying baggies. The heat and humidity during the day and then change in temps at night, you can hear my mason jar lids popping all over the place. Somebody was kind enough to explain to me it was something to do with air pressure.

[tash11]

Originally Posted by Starlight

...

tash11... Definitely going to have get some cumin. We were raised with mom only ever adding salt and maybe a bit of pepper to the food she cooked. Very simple, plain fare. Good, but no real flavor.

I don't think I am to the stage of learning how to smoke peppers yet, but I'll keep that in mind. ...

My mom can't cook, period. At least yours used pepper, mine just burns everything adds too much salt and calls it a day.

Smoking sounds hard, but my husband got an electric smoker for meat. Works great at low temps for peppers. I then finish them off in the dehydrator.

Originally Posted by Starlight

Neat pic! Thanks for sharing it.

I wonder if I wouldn't be better off trying baggies. The heat and humidity during the day and then change in temps at night, you can hear my mason jar lids popping all over the place. Somebody was kind enough to explain to me it was something to do with air pressure.

Baggies are ok for shorter times. Might want to double bag. I will use bags for smoked peppers sometimes if I am taking them somewhere soon, I can smell the smoke all over my pantry and in the car when I do take them somewhere (and they are inside a cardboard box too). If I used the food saver bags it might be better, but for trade I kinda want people to smell them.

[rhines81]

Ummmm, I really have to disagree strongly with what I have read several times above.... Not just ANY pepper makes Paprika!

ANY pepper makes a powder, but that is not necessarily even close to the taste of what a Paprika type pepper would be. Paprika a somewhat subtle with either a hint of sweet or a hint of hot, sometime a subtle mix of hot and sweet.

Cayenne Pepper, yields, Cayenne powder .... Habenero Pepper yields, Habenero powder ... please note these and many others are nowhere near what a Paprika powder should add to the taste of your food. Paprika is an enhancer, not a dominant ingredient.

Stick to your traditional Hungarian or Spanish paprika type peppers to make your powders.

Another vote for Leutschauer Paprika here!

[Worth1]

Literally.


The plant that makes the Hungarian version of the spice was grown from 1529 by the Turks at Buda[5] (now part of the capital of Hungary, Budapest). The first recorded use of the word "paprika" in English is from 1896,[5] although an earlier reference to Turkish paprika was published in 1831.[6] The word derives from the Hungarian word paprika, a diminutive of the Serbo-Croatian word papar (meaning "pepper"),[7] which in turn came from the Latin piper or modern Greek piperi.[5] Paprika and similar words, peperke, piperke, and paparka, are used in various Slavic languages in the Balkans for bell peppers.[2]
The word "paprika" entered a large number of languages, in many cases probably via German.[8] European languages use a similar word, while examples from other languages include the Japanese papurika.[8]
Central European paprika was hot until the 1920s when a Szeged breeder found one plant that produced sweet fruit, then grafted it onto other plants.[4]

[AlittleSalt]

I have run out of Leustchauer seeds to give away. If you have already PMed me - I have either already mailed them or they'll be going out Saturday the 19th.

Thanks for your generosity, Robert. I have learned loads from this thread. I love cooking with paprika but it never occured to me that you could grow and make it at home! I am excited to give it a whirl.

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I have run out of Leustchauer seeds to give away. If you have already PMed me - I have either already mailed them or they'll be going out Saturday the 19th.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by rhines81

Ummmm, I really have to disagree strongly with what I have read several times above.... Not just ANY pepper makes Paprika!

ANY pepper makes a powder, but that is not necessarily even close to the taste of what a Paprika type pepper would be. Paprika a somewhat subtle with either a hint of sweet or a hint of hot, sometime a subtle mix of hot and sweet.

Cayenne Pepper, yields, Cayenne powder .... Habenero Pepper yields, Habenero powder ... please note these and many others are nowhere near what a Paprika powder should add to the taste of your food. Paprika is an enhancer, not a dominant ingredient.

Stick to your traditional Hungarian or Spanish paprika type peppers to make your powders.

Another vote for Leutschauer Paprika here!

Thank you! Wrote that down in my notes, so I don't forget.

It's going to be Alma Paprika and the Leutschauer Paprika pepper to start with this year.

Originally Posted by braybright

Thanks for your generosity, Robert. I have learned loads from this thread. I love cooking with paprika but it never occured to me that you could grow and make it at home! I am excited to give it a whirl.

I didn't either til I started reading some of the pepper threads and discovered folks talking about, smoking, making powders and doing all kinds of things with peppers.

When you get time, start reading some of the pepper threads. Lots of good and amazing information in them.

[AlittleSalt]

Alma is the one paprika that I am going to buy some seeds for growing in 2017. I just like the way it looks and the favorable reviews. The Leutschauer Paprika is one that will be grown in my garden every year.

[kchd..]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Alma is the one paprika that I am going to buy some seeds for growing in 2017. I just like the way it looks and the favorable reviews. The Leutschauer Paprika is one that will be grown in my garden every year.

Alittlesalt, I grew Alma paprika for the first time in 2015 and love it. I've over-wintered two plants in pots and they are still producing. I have plenty of seeds to share if you would like some. Just send me a PM.

I'm back to report! I ended up with one surviving Leutschauer plant that was put out a bit later than ideal. I did get 3/4 lb (329g) of peppers from it, and I will certainly be increasing the number of plants next year. I've just been grinding the dried pods with a mortar and pestle - and that rough ground paprika is a-mazing! Such a vibrant color, and that spicy, fruity scent is almost (almost!) better than the taste.

(As pictured below, the last few are ripening, not fully red quite yet)

Salt, thank you again so much for giving me the chance to grow it. I am never going back! What a great community to be a part of. I'm working on a small scale seed offer after the new year to pay it forward.

[dmforcier]

Interesting. I'm growing Apple Pimento and Piment d'Espelette this year. Both are commonly dried and ground for use as or like paprika.

The espelettes are fast-producing and great low-light plants, but have a high skin to flesh ratio. I probably won't grow again.

Apple Pimento is thick-fleshed and reminiscent of Alma Paprika, and like that variety is relatively slow and not all that prolific. Interesting elongated leaves. If it dries well I'll probably keep this plant.

And will be on the lookout for Leutschauer seeds.

[TC_Manhattan]

Baker Creek carries Leutschauer pepper seeds.

[roper2008]

I grew Alma Paprika 5 years ago. It did really well in my earthbox. I plan to grow
it again some day, but I'm always trying new peppers. I did not dehydrate them.
Ate them fresh. I plan on growing Lipstick next year. Maybe I will try to get in
for that seed offer. Never tried Leutschauer. Below is the Alma Paprika grown in
an earthbox.