Hungary is the one country most renowned for their the use of paprika
In Hungary, the spice is just as commonly used as salt and pepper are here in the United States and is an everyday ingredient in the most of their daily cooking.
In fact, they add several heaping tablespoons …not the sprinkling like many of us do when we make deviled eggs.,,adding the intense peppery flavor and aroma so characteristic of Hungarian cuisine…most commercial
The peppers used to make Hungarian paprika are sweeter than the peppers used in other countries because their cool growing season. causes the peppers to retains more sugar,
If it weren’t for Christopher Columbus, Hungarians may have never heard of paprika…as the peppers and paprika actually come from Central America.
Diego Chanca, Christopher Columbus’ doctor, made sure that he took this plant back with him on their voyages.
At first Europeans were quite suspicious about the new plant…and for two centuries only used it for decoration.
Even though paprika had first been introduced to Europe in the 15th century, it did not became a popular ingredient in Hungarian cuisine until the 1780’s.
Interestingly right after World War II paprika was actually used by the communists for hard currency.
Paprika production in Hungary was nationalized by the communist government, prohibiting local growers from milling their own paprika powder and mandating that the farmers hand over all their peppers to state-owned mills.
People in Hungary were actually sent to prison for selling paprika on their own.
Paprika was important to these communists because they desperately needed foreign currency…and were able to export tons of paprika each year in exchange for German or American money.
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Landmarks
There are two museums—the Paprika Museum in Szeged and the Paprika Museum in Kalocsa…as well as two annual festivals—one in the town of Kalocsa and another in Szeged.
Szeged has actually been the center of the Hungarian paprika industry for over a century.