Hungarian paprika and how it's made.

Folks wouldn't believe how many people think paprika is made from red Bell peppers.
There's a video on YouTube where people are swallowing it.
When someone makes homemade paprika with the things.

What a great video! Amazing how red and vibrant the paprika was.

He mentioned 3 types of peppers but there was no mention of cultivar/variant. Anyone know specifically what kind of peppers are used in Hungary? Either for paprika or for stuffing.

I found this website that sells seeds from Hungary. Might give them a try next year. www.hungarianpaprika.net/shop/paprika-seeds/

I_garden_in_snow wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:20 am What a great video! Amazing how red and vibrant the paprika was.

He mentioned 3 types of peppers but there was no mention of cultivar/variant. Anyone know specifically what kind of peppers are used in Hungary? Either for paprika or for stuffing.

I found this website that sells seeds from Hungary. Might give them a try next year. www.hungarianpaprika.net/shop/paprika-seeds/

I read or heard somewhere it depends on the pepper and the season which variety they use.
Not for sure if it's true or not.
Most people in the US don't really know how to use it for anything but decoration on deviled eggs when in reality hot red pepper was the original paprika they used hence the devil in the name.

I tried Hungarian paprika many years ago, but they didn't produce much for me, and I figured that it was because it was because it was much warmer here. And that was before it got as hot as it has in recent years, and I know your temps will be even hotter! You might want to research what their local temperatures are in the summer, compared to yours.

I_garden_in_snow wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:20 am What a great video! Amazing how red and vibrant the paprika was.

He mentioned 3 types of peppers but there was no mention of cultivar/variant. Anyone know specifically what kind of peppers are used in Hungary? Either for paprika or for stuffing.

I found this website that sells seeds from Hungary. Might give them a try next year. www.hungarianpaprika.net/shop/paprika-seeds/

@I_garden_in_snow, I did some poking around and found this, regarding Szegedi paprika:

"Only the following varieties may be used as a raw material for ‘Szegedi fűszerpaprika-őrlemény’ or
‘Szegedi paprika’: Bíbor, Bolero, Délibáb, Fesztivál, Folklor, Kárminvörös, Mihályteleki, Napfény,
Remény, Rubinvörös, Sláger, Szegedi F-03 (hot), Szegedi non-hot 57-13, Szegedi 178 (hot), Szegedi
179 (hot), Szegedi 20, Szegedi 80, Viktória, Zuhatag."

Source: Official Journal of the European Union Pg. 8, Dated 20 Feb, 2010

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 0:044:FULL

I think there's 3 "flavors" of Szegedi paprika: Sweet, Semi-Hot, and Hot. The different peppers determine which category the resulting product falls into.

Thank you for posting a fabulous video XX Jeannine

I've had the finest paprika money can buy from Hungary.
I just bought half a pound of sweet Spanish paprika today to go along with my other half pound of a more red paprika from probably Mexico.
To be totally fair I can't really tell the difference in any of them unless they are the hot types.
I've had hot smoked from Hungary as well as Spain.
Smoked and not smoked.
I use paprika by the handful too.
I've used it alone and with other spice blends.
Maybe it's me but I can for my taste can't tell them apart.
It's like the vidalia onion.
No difference from the same variety of onion grown in Texas with the right soil and conditions.

@rdback (hope this tag works, please tell me if it doesn't. I'm new)

Thank you for digging! I did some too and asked some Hungarians which cultivars are known in Hungary for stuffing and for paprika spice.

I received a few different replies, the most beneficial ones were:

1. (Regarding my link of the webshop)

"The variants from the site you linked are pretty common. Usually the cultivars are grouped as following:

-- Tölteni való (TV) paprika: Cecei, Bogyiszlói, etc. Usually eaten unripe, when yellow. Not hot at all. Tasty in sandwiches. As name suggests, it was originally intended for stuffing, as they are hollow and have (relatively) thin walls.

-- Hegyes erős paprika: I'm not familiar with the exact cultivars, as they are often sold as hegyes erős. Hot, and used to be sold unripe (green). Shape is similar to TV paprika, but longer and pointy. Usually used while raw as condiment, in Hungarian dishes like gulyás, if your soup is not hot enough

-- Almapaprika: Can be either hot or mild, usually pickled.

-- Cseresznye paprika: hot pepper, usually dried and crushed, to be used when your soup is not hot enough

-- Fűszerpaprika: sweet pepper, to be used as dried spice. Originally cultivated in Szeged, these are the cultivars that are used in the spice called paprika in English: Szegedi 80, Palotás, Hírös, etc.

I'm sure there are other varieties too, but these are the most common."

2. Link to a website in Hungarian which explains the different types of peppers used, what they're used for, how big they get, the shape etc. I used google translate and it worked fine https://www.kertimag.com/inc/osszefuz.php?x=paprika2

Guess I'm getting some Cecei and Szegedi 80 for next year's lot.

I_garden_in_snow wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:10 am @rdback (hope this tag works, please tell me if it doesn't. I'm new)

@I_garden_in_snow It doesn't seem to have worked. To create an active mention start typing with the @ symbol followed by the spelling of the name. After typing in the first few characters of the name you will see a drop down menu with all of the possibilities, click on the correct one. In the post it will appear as a different color.

Welcome to the forum.

Here are some links on a website that has English text option incase anyone wants to see how the Hungarians themselves sort the pepper cultivars used in food.

Copy/pasted from conversation with an Hungarian gardener:

Paprika section:

https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/all-produc ... ults,25-48

For stuffing for example, or any of the bigger white ones (they are all sweet):

https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

For spice:

hot:
https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

sweet:
https://termeszetkosar.hu/en/products/k ... ka-vetomag

They offer international shipping to some countries but it's sadly very expensive.

Thanks for the information @I_garden_in_snow , always interesting to see how those whom have grown them for a long time use things. A few that I would be interested in if I had any hope of getting them into Australia

I think there are several chilies here in the USA or Mexico that would make excellent paprika if a person had enough and the right grinder.
Guajillo and corno de Toro would be a couple of choices I would grow or buy.
The guajillo is really abundant where I live as well as the puya.

worth1 wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 8:41 am I think there are several chilies here in the USA or Mexico that would make excellent paprika if a person had enough and the right grinder.
Guajillo and corno de Toro would be a couple of choices I would grow or buy.
The guajillo is really abundant where I live.

I second this. I have grown Guajillo and am growing it again this season. It’s loaded with peppers.

I decided that some of these paprikas like Hungarian paprika are about consistency and branding. It’s like whiskey, you want a process that’s repeatable time and again. You use the same mash bill, the same fermentation temperature, yeast, time, the same stills, the same barrels charred in the same manner so that each and every bottle tastes the same as last year and the year before.

So Hungary grows a lot of peppers of various sorts and maybe this pepper does better there and that pepper does better here. The peppers all go to market and then the paprika makers take over the process and know which ones are which and how much to include so that every season the product is consistent.

I’ve grown some of the Hungarian paprika peppers and they mostly have not been my favorite peppers to grow for various reasons. Probably not suited to my garden or climate.

But, take about any thin walled pepper to full ripe, dry, dehydrate it, seed to mostly seed it, and put that in a spice grinder and the results are almost always delicious. Not exactly repeatable year after year, but still delicious.

Whwoz wrote: ↑Wed Apr 30, 2025 4:58 am Thanks for the information @I_garden_in_snow , always interesting to see how those whom have grown them for a long time use things. A few that I would be interested in if I had any hope of getting them into Australia

Which types? I might try and get some for next year. I'll let you know if I succeed. If it's legal to send to you, I mean?

Beaver Dam supposed to be originated from Hungary. I grow them every year, but I do never have enough to make powder just from them. If I dehydrate peppers, it usually is mixture of many different kinds.

I use a lot of paprika when cooking and a friend brought me some fine hot paprika powder when she visited Hungary. I'm not sure where I can find more of the hot one when I run out of it. The stores here sell usually the mild one from Hungary or Spanish paprika.

I_garden_in_snow wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 1:33 pm

Whwoz wrote: ↑Wed Apr 30, 2025 4:58 am Thanks for the information @I_garden_in_snow , always interesting to see how those whom have grown them for a long time use things. A few that I would be interested in if I had any hope of getting them into Australia

Which types? I might try and get some for next year. I'll let you know if I succeed. If it's legal to send to you, I mean?

Would be looking at the sweet paprika and some of the large white bell styles. Christmas or birthday cards occasionally arrive with a little bit extra in them. Would technically be not allowed most likely, or if so require a permit and probably some virus testing to be done

I bought a large packet of paprika from an Indian spice company (Suraj) and it was quite different from the standard sweet paprika that I'm used to. A darker color and a hotter flavor, instead of bright light red and sweet.
The pepper which the same company called cayenne was also nothing like cayenne. Hot but not the high note heat. Interesting to use but by no means equivalent. I've grown cayenne and it is very specific not whatever pepper. it's all heat and sweet, no low burns.

Alma "paprika" is one I've grown, and is a superb pepper. Very early, tolerant of low light conditions (in a window here). It is thick walled though not thin. Not a very large pepper but quite hot, and yet unique in that the burn goes away very quickly. I do love them fresh ripe, so sweet as well as the quick and gone heat.

Guajillo is my favorite all purpose pepper. I just love the flavor, and the amount of heat is just right for a fresh pepper stir fry or any dish. I bet the powder approach would be very tasty.

I wonder how much heat is lost when you powder and store any kind of pepper. Cayenne holds its heat well, IDK about others.

This is my favorite dish to use the Hungarian paprika powder.
Boneless pork chops fried and then covered with paprika powder and slices of cheese. Cream is poured on the pan and it is left to simmer covered so that the cheese melts and the cream gets color from the paprika and thickens with cheese running down the chops.
I just made this today. Original recipe which I learned years ago from a cooking show, asks for emmental cheese, but I used this time sharp cheddar, since we had that in the fridge. I used sweet Hungarian paprika, because I did not want to make this too hot with the generous amount used to cover the chops. The cream sauce in that becomes so good, that I had to lick my plate.

This is not the healhiest dish to eat and our son calls it "the heart attack"

@bower
The lighter color is because they grind the seeds and all in some paprika.
The chilie powder from India I use is very red and screaming hot without seeds.
Pepper seeds on their own are not hot.
14 ounces of this stuff for 4 dollars is a bargain.
Milder chilli my eye this stuff is hot.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/supr ... -oz/739282