Hungarian paprika is ground, dried red pepper from Hungary, and much of it comes from two regions in the south of the country, around Szeged and Kalocsa. It’s known for a sweet, rich flavor and a bright red color, and it runs from no heat at all to hot. Few countries are as entwined with a spice as Hungary is with paprika. It’s the backbone of goulash and paprikash, and there’s real pride in it. So how did a country so far from where chilies come from end up known for one? Here’s where it came from, what makes it different, and how to tell the types apart.
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What makes Hungarian paprika different?
Mostly, it’s the sweetness. Both Szeged and Kalocsa paprika are protected designations of origin in the EU, and they’ve got official specifications that explain it. These regions get plenty of sun, about 2,000 hours a year in Szeged. But the peppers don’t ripen as fully as they would in sunnier southern countries. So they’ve still got some of their sugar at harvest, and that’s what gives the paprika its sweet, fruity taste.
How it’s made matters too. After harvest, the pods are left to finish ripening for anywhere from about 10 days to 40. Then they’re dried gently and ground. The Kalocsa rules keep both drying and grinding under 80°C (176°F), and in Szeged the pods are traditionally ground between millstones. What you get is a deep, silky red powder that’s sweet and fruity, with a slightly roasted edge.
Is Hungarian paprika hot?
It depends on which type you’ve got. Most of the Hungarian paprika you’ll find is sweet, with little or no heat. Hot Hungarian paprika does exist, though, and it can have a real kick, so check the label before you add it.
The protection rules measure heat by capsaicin content, not on the Scoville scale. Under the Szeged rules, paprika with up to 100 mg of capsaicin per kilogram counts as non-pungent, and anything over 200 mg is hot. Kalocsa’s rules have their own bands, with anything over 500 mg per kilogram counted as hot.
It wasn’t always this way. Hungarian paprika used to be hot. In 1859, the Pálfy brothers of Szeged came up with a machine that removed the pods’ veins and seeds before grinding, which made a milder paprika possible. After that, breeders went after peppers that’d be sweet all the way through. Kalocsa’s paprika research station, set up in 1917, went on to breed the “noble” paprika and sweet, non-hot varieties.
What are the types of Hungarian paprika?
You’ll see these eight names on Hungarian tins and in recipes. Hungary first sorted its paprika into quality categories by decree in 1922. The descriptions below follow food writer Sharon Hudgins, in the order she lists them, which runs roughly from mildest to hottest.
| Hungarian name | In English | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Különleges | Special quality | The mildest and brightest red, with excellent aroma. |
| Csípősmentes csemege | Delicate, without heat | Mild, with a rich flavor, from light to dark red. |
| Csemege | Exquisite delicate | Like the delicate, but a little more pungent. |
| Csípős csemege | Pungent exquisite delicate | A more pungent version again. |
| Rózsa | Rose | Pale red, with a strong aroma and mild heat. |
| Édesnemes | Noble sweet | Bright red and slightly pungent. The most exported type. |
| Félédes | Half-sweet | A blend of mild and hot paprika, with medium heat. |
| Erős | Hot | Light brown rather than bright red, and the hottest of the eight. |
Outside Hungary, édesnemes is the one you’ll usually find. A lot of tins just say sweet (édes) or hot (csípős or erős), so if you’re following a Hungarian recipe, that’s usually all the detail you’ll need.
How did paprika get to Hungary?
Chili peppers reached Europe from the Americas through Spain and Portugal in the 16th century, and they were known in Hungary by 1569. At the time, the Ottoman Empire ruled the central part of the country, and the pepper’s early Hungarian name shows it. The first dictionary entry, in 1604, calls it török-bors, or Turkish pepper.
The word paprika didn’t show up until later. It’s a diminutive of the Serbo-Croatian papar, meaning pepper, which goes back to the Latin piper. It didn’t come into general use in Hungary until the late 1700s. By then, they’d already been growing the peppers around Szeged and Kalocsa for decades. Szeged’s link to paprika is on record from 1748, and Kalocsa’s growing goes back to the early 1700s.
What does Hungarian paprika have to do with vitamin C?
It played a big part in the story of vitamin C. Albert Szent-Györgyi was working in Szeged in 1932, and he’d been trying to isolate the vitamin from other fruits and vegetables without much luck. So he tried the local paprika peppers, and it turned out they’re a very rich source. Within a week, his team had produced over three pounds of pure vitamin C, and in 1937 he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Can you visit Hungary’s paprika regions?
You can. Kalocsa’s got a Paprika Museum that covers the history of growing and milling, and the town has held a paprika festival in September. In Szeged, the Pick salami company’s museum tells the story of Szeged paprika alongside its salami.
How do you cook with Hungarian paprika?
Hungarian cooks usually bloom paprika in hot fat, like lard, butter or oil, with onions. It burns very easily, though, and burnt paprika’s bitter. So you’ll want to take the pan off the heat, or turn it down low, before you stir it in. Then add your meat, vegetables or some liquid right away to cool things down.
That’s the start of many of the country’s famous dishes. Goulash, a beef soup with paprika and onions, is the famous one, and our Hungarian goulash shows how it’s done. Paprikash adds sour cream to a paprika and onion sauce, and it’s usually made with chicken. Add the sour cream at the end and keep it from boiling so it doesn’t curdle.
You’ll also find Hungarian paprika as a paste, sold in tubes or small jars. It works in most dishes that call for the powder.
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Related reading
- Hungarian Paprika Vs. Spanish Paprika: How the two best-known paprikas differ, and when to use each.
- Spanish Paprika 101: The Types And How It’s Made: Hungary’s main paprika rival, from sweet to smoked.
- What’s A Good Paprika Substitute?: What to use when the tin runs out.