PAPRIKA the spice of HUNGARY

Paprika is principally used to season and colour rices stews soups, such as goulash It's a key ingredient in Hungarian cuisine.

The word comes from the Hungarian "paprika" which was derived from the Latin "piper", for "pepper."

History Paprika, originating in the New World, came to Hungary with the Turkish invading army. First it was used as decoration then as medicine and only became commonly used as a spice in Hungary at the end of the l8th century.

Vitamin C It is the original source of vitamin C, isolated by the Hungarian scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi ( ), who received the Nobel Prize for this achievement. He named it ascorbic acid (a-scorbic) because it cured scorbutic disease.

Healthy A paprika pepper contains 5-6 times more vitamin C than an orange or lemon.

Types In Hungary there are six classes or types of paprika ranging from delicate to hot. Some are for eating and others for spicing.

The conditions are very favourable in Hungary for the warm- loving paprika. In the southern region the temperature-, sun- and rainfall circumstances are the best of all the agricultural lands for redpepper cultivating.

Harvest The annual pepper harvest starts in September. Farm workers pick bright red peppers and stack them in small wooden crates or big plastic bags.

Drying After that paprika peppers are washed and then they are threaded onto long pieces of string and hung up to dry outside the houses to let their flavour and colour develop even further.

The length of the pepper chains can be up to 5 meters. The locals call it "Red Gold."

Production After dried, peppers are ground between stones and steel cylinders. Later laboratory checks are carried out, and tasters make sure that quality remains consistent. If the paprika meets the requirements, it is filled into bags and stamped with a quality seal.

In 100g of paprika you can find: energy 20 kcal vitamin B1 0,05 mg vitamin B2 0,03 mg vitamin C 170 mg (!!!) protein 1,2 g fat 0,3 g carbohydrates 3,0 g

Good-bye!