Even with the smallest pinch, paprika can deliver the bright color and sheer hotness of a bright red Ferrari. It gives life topotatoes, tosoups, tosteaks—to everything, really.
In some ways, all paprika is the same—it's all the ground-up skins and flesh of dried, seeded, and stemmed red peppers. But the variety of peppers used in a paprika dramatically impacts its flavor. So some are bright and sweet, while others are dark and smoky.
But how different are these paprikas from one another, really? The answer is as simple as diving in to the three most common varieties.
This is the standard paprika you'll find at the grocery store. It is generally labeled as simply "paprika."
FLAVOR:There’s not a ton of heat here—the dominant flavor is fruity and just slightly bitter, similar to sun-dried tomatoes.
COOK IT:Use it in aspicy chicken paprikashor on top ofa mild summer potato salad.
The name says it all: This variety of paprika is made with spicy red peppers (the hot don't stop even if it's dried).
FLAVOR:Spicier and livelier than sweet paprika, this variety gets even more intense when you heat it up with butter or oil.
COOK IT:Stir some into hummus or use it ina spice mixture for shawarma.
Darker in color than the Hungarian or Californian varieties, this piquant variety is also sometimes labeled asPimentón de la Vera. It's made with peppers that have been roasted and dried over fire.
FLAVOR:You guessed it. This paprika is loaded with all the smoky, flame-kissed flavors of good barbecue. More hot than sweet.
COOK IT:Use this paprika with Spanish dishes, likemussels with sherry and saffron, or on amarcona almond tapa. Want to add anelement of smoke to your vegetables? This is the jar for that.
