Sweet paprika

Sweet paprika from Altes Gewürzamt, stone-ground

Sweet paprika from Altes Gewürzamt is made from hand-picked red peppers that are slowly ground into powder between millstones. Because there is hardly any friction heat involved, the aroma and sweetness are preserved, adding a mild spice to goulash, chicken, and potatoes.

Sweet paprika is the mild paprika powder from Altes Gewürzamt and consists of a single raw ingredient. "Sweet" (edelsüß) is an old trade classification describing the selection of the peppers, which gives the powder its vibrant color and sweet, warm tone.

Mild, fruity, and bright red

On fried potatoes, the paprika remains mild and full-bodied, without any heat, but with a fruitiness reminiscent of ripe peppers from the field. It adds color to every dish as well as a gentle spice, without ever overpowering it.

The reason it stays so mild is decided long before it reaches the mill. The heat of a pepper is largely found in the light-colored internal membranes where the seeds are attached; for sweet paprika, both are removed beforehand. What remains is the pure fruit flesh, which provides the sweet, warm tone.

The second decisive factor is the grinding process. Rapidly and hotly ground paprika becomes dull, brownish, and flat in flavor, while the slow-running stones retain the essential oils in the powder, along with its fragrance.

For goulash, roasted chicken, and marinades

It goes well with vegetables, chicken, and beef, in sauces and stews, and on fried potatoes; even sprinkled over eggs or avocado, it leaves a red tint.

Stirred generously into a chicken goulash, it provides color and mild spice, and in a marinade of oil, lemon, and garlic, it colors the meat even before cooking. One simple move is more important than any other.

Take the pot off the heat before stirring in the powder, because paprika contains its own fruit sugar, which caramelizes and turns bitter in hot fat within seconds. Once stirred in and immediately deglazed with broth, the color stays in the sauce rather than on the bottom of the pan.

For a Hungarian-style goulash, the mild paprika works best in a duet with hot paprika, roughly two parts mild to one part hot. Perfectly balanced and supplemented with garlic, caraway, and marjoram, it is included in the Hungarian goulash seasoning.

A single raw ingredient, packaged in Klingenberg

The pepper came to Europe after the discovery of America and became native to Hungary, where it moved from the ornamental garden into the kitchen. It was there that the distinction between levels of spiciness was created, which we still use today and to which the "sweet" paprika owes its name.

The 75 g tin is best kept in a dark, cool place, because while this paprika likes it hot in the pot, it prefers the shade on the shelf. Light bleaches out the red pigments, and the aroma goes with them.

The journey ends in Klingenberg am Main, and Altes Gewürzamt selects its single spices with the same care as the ingredients for its blends. With a powder made from a single raw ingredient, the quality of the product alone determines what ends up in the tin.

You can find this mild classic and its neighbors among the individual spices and herbs, and the entire assortment from Altes Gewürzamt is right next to it.