I love Paprika

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Cliff H.

Master Chef
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
6,143
Location
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Real paprika that is.

After commenting on my absolute disgust for store bought paprika, Big Dude was kind enough to send me a small sample of REAL home grown, dehydrated and ground paprika peppers.

I cannot believe the difference. This changes everything.

Left to right:

Spanish paprika (DIRT)
Sweet Hungarian Paprika (Better but still nasty)
Big Dudes HomeBrew (Eureka)


img_167468_0_fb391240daf3ce5ec85c641e4093cae7.jpg


img_167468_1_3592f02646884ac622142012b94d538f.jpg
 
Looks like Cliff is measuring out drugs..j/k. :shock: Can you grow some in your yard Cliff? I had a paprika plant some years back and wasn't sure what to use them for. Now I know!!!! :roll: Great post!!!
 
surfinsapo said:
Looks like Cliff is measuring out drugs..j/k. :shock: Can you grow some in your yard Cliff? I had a paprika plant some years back and wasn't sure what to use them for. Now I know!!!! :roll: Great post!!!

It is the only thing I am going to try to grow.
 
Cliff - Glad you liked it. I don't know how the commercial people make theirs so bad. I suspect they just use any sweet pepper (rather than sweet paprikas) that yields a lot then bake the flavor out of them. It's a pain to grow, dry and grind them, but the flavor is so different I have to do it. The commercial stuff is mostly used for and only good for color on things like deviled eggs. Mine adds real pepper flavor to the things I use it on/in - eg chili powder. I also grow and dry my own poblano/ancho peppers and the difference is equally outstanding. They go together to make a pretty good rub.
 
I've been eating mine fresh. There are some in the kitchen from the last picking, so maybe I'll get the dehydrator out and try it. What will I do then for the dirt flavor in my rubs??? :shock: :LOL:
 
Bored with the standard grocery-store red stuff, I'd like to try some spicy paprika, but no way am I going to grow it. Anybody found a commercial source you like? Particular brands or varieties?

--John
 
Unity said:
Bored with the standard grocery-store red stuff, I'd like to try some spicy paprika, but no way am I going to grow it. Anybody found a commercial source you like? Particular brands or varieties?

--John

Inquiring minds would like to know this.
 
There's NOTHING like having FRESH ground chile's.

Kevin,
Try some Guajillo's (med, piney, with fruity aftertaste), and Pasilla Negro's (mild, and raisiney)...they add a nice "WTF is that flavor" factor. ;)
 
Rag said:
I've been eating mine fresh. There are some in the kitchen from the last picking, so maybe I'll get the dehydrator out and try it. What will I do then for the dirt flavor in my rubs??? :shock: :LOL:

Perhaps mix 50-50 and use the fresh for the sweet pepper flavor and the commercial for the dirt taste :) :)
 
Seeing all this stuff about ground peppers I am definetly going to throw in a few extra pepper plants in the garden next spring. With an 800 sq/ft garden maybe thats just all I'll grow and sell it to y'all! haha.
 
I buy mine from Penzes:
http://www.penzeys.com/

The store stuff is stale (been sittin on the shelf for 1000 years) Penzeys is worlds apart with all they spices.

The older the spice the less essintial oils flavor it has left. Thats where the flavor kick comes from, The oil looses its hoopla over time
 
Stogie - Thanks for the mill info - ordered one yesterday. I've been using a coffee grinder with the results you mentioned, plus many small batches. Looking foward to having a more precise, higher volume machine - I got the hand crank along with the Kitchen Aid mixter adapter
 
A couple of shots of what be my last picking of the year.
I tried dehydrating the paprikas. They are now dried chips and taste great.....real sweet.
I'll grind them up this week.


 
Rag, for those of us that live where peppers won't grow, would you please identify what I'm lookin' at in the bottom pic. Thanks.
 
I loose track of what I plant. My guess is the red jobs are Habaneros, and the big yellow one is a Scotch Bonnet. Not much difference.
I have the long yellow one logged down somewhere. I'm not sure what it is. It has some good heat but not anything great.
Three peppers I'm really looking to harvest are Habs (and scoth bons), red ripe Jalapenos and hot cherry peppers.
 
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