Paprika La Vera Smoked Hot Spanish (ounce) Spices Inc.

This La Vera Smoked Paprika Hot (also called picante) is a Spanish Paprika that has been smoked the traditional way – without the short cuts often found in the larger commercial paprika productions. Freshly harvested ripe red pimento peppers are dried in low-lying, adobe smoke houses that are heated by smoking grills fired with slow-burning oak planks (this is also known as cold smoked). Next it is on to a repeated grinding between stones which results in its signature silky smooth texture. The end result is a deep, dark earthy red color with a touch of heat (about 500 – 1,000 on the Scoville Heat Units). Now don’t think of this as a “burn your face off” type of heat like you might get with some chiles. This is more of a seductive heat that draws you in. Its characteristic dark red color spreads evenly throughout any dish. Paprika is used mainly to add coloring and some flavoring to a dish and is popular in the cuisines of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Serbia, Spain, Romania and Turkey. Smoked Paprika adds an authentic flavor to Spanish style paellas. It’s also a key ingredient in Spanish chorizo sausage and lomo pork loin. In American cuisine Smoked Paprika has recently become a secret ingredient used to season pork barbecues, chicken kebabs, and hearty beef and lamb stews. Some of the other creative ways to use Smoked Paprika tomato soup, guacamole dip, smoked paprika butter or add to vinaigrette for your salad. Paprika partners well with allspice, caraway, cardamom, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, pepper, rosemary, saffron, thyme and turmeric.