Paprika

Paprika is powdered dried peppers; its flavor and color dissolve best in fat.

Flavor

How to use it

Bloom in fat. Stir into warm oil for 10 to 15 seconds. The colorful compounds are fat-soluble and spread through the dish.

Pick the type. Sweet for color, smoked for a bacon-like depth, hot for heat.

Common mistakes

• Scorching it in hot oil, which turns it acrid and brown.
• Using old, dull paprika and expecting flavor.

What goes with paprika

• Chicken thigh. Paprika's fat-soluble color and sweet-smoky flavor spread through chicken fat.
• Tomato. Tomato's acidity balances paprika's rich, sweetly heated flavor.
• Bell Pepper. Paprika is dried ground sweet pepper, so it deepens fresh bell pepper's own sweet flavor.
• Onion. Paprika's mild sweetness and color pair with sweet cooked onion in goulash.
• Pork Shoulder. Paprika's mild sweet heat colors and seasons pork in rubs.
• Sour Cream. Sour cream's tang balances paprika's mild sweet heat, as in goulash.
• Garlic. Garlic's intensity amplifies paprika's aromatic spices.
• Olive oil. Olive oil spreads paprika’s color and flavor evenly across a dish.

Try tonight

• Rub smoked paprika on chicken thighs.
• Stir into scrambled eggs with butter.
• Dust over roasted potatoes with olive oil.

Storage

Keep in a sealed tin away from light and heat; it fades to dull red in about 6 months.