This is why paprika powder doesn’t taste anything like paprika at all

Paprika powder is what makes paprika chips taste like paprika. It is also widely used as a spicy addition to, for example, sticky spareribs or an Iraqi shakshuka. But if you taste paprika powder on its own, you soon discover that it actually doesn’t taste anything like paprika at all. How is that possible?

Which pepper?

At the request of a viewer, Keuringsdienst van Waarde investigated the matter. Because although the jars of paprika powder in supermarkets often feature pictures of bell peppers, the taste is indeed very different. That’s because the powder has nothing to do with bell peppers—or at least, not the variety of bell pepper we know in red, yellow, orange and green.

A staple in your kitchen cupboard

Paprika powder is made from dried or smoked, ground fruits from the bell pepper and chili pepper families. These do not have the familiar blocky shape of male or female bell peppers, but look more like a large, dark-red, pointed pepper—which also explains the color of the powder. Compared with block-shaped bell peppers, they have a spicier flavor, making this powder an indispensable product in your Spanish, Hungarian or Mexican pantry.

Source: Keuringsdienst van Waarde

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