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What is Pimentón?

2022-02-16

Spanish Paprika, known locally in Spain as Pimentón. As a spice, it's essential to Spanish kitchens and sits at the heat of many recipes. Get to know everything about Pimentón!

Ask a hundred people to describe Pimentón in one word and at least 99 of them will undoubtedly give you the same response: RED. 

In fact, if we were asked to describe Pimentón in three words, we’d likely say that it is ‘beautifully, wonderfully red’. It’s colour is so striking! This is the ingredient that grants chorizo it’s signature carmine colouring. But don’t be fooled, there’s far more to this pretty powder than just it’s hue. Pimentón is an important ingredient for it’s flavour too, packing powerful punches across a wide spectrum of deliciousness and breathing new life into a whole range of dishes. 

If you didn’t know already, and haven’t guessed by now, the spice we’re talking about today is Spanish Paprika, known locally in Spain as Pimentón. As a spice, it's essential to Spanish kitchens and sits at the heat of many recipes.


Types of Spanish Paprika


There are four varieties of Pimentón you need to know about and they vary widely in flavour and heat. This is why most Spanish recipes - like those on our website - will tell you the best type of paprika for the dish. Here are the types to look for and their key characteristics: 

  • Pimentón de la Vera: When a food has a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, you know it’s good, right? As you might have guessed, Pimentón de la Vera comes from the Extremadura/La Vera region of Spain. The paprika produced here is dried in smoke from a holm oak wood fire before being stone-ground. The oak fire gives Pimentón de la Vera it’s signature intense smokiness.
  • Pimentón dulce: This translates literally as ‘sweet paprika’. Pimentón dulce is produced using milder peppers, but can come in several forms depending on the drying process. You'll be able to find both a sweet smoked paprika and a sweet sun-dried paprika at Spanish supermarkets.
  • Pimentón picante: Pimentón picante is known as the ‘hot paprika’. It’s the spiciest variety of pimentón that delivers a beautiful smoky bacon aroma. It is typically made from different kinds of hot dried peppers and lends itself perfectly to hearty stews and meaty dishes. 
  • Pimentón agridulce: Translating as ‘bittersweet paprika’ should help you understand more of this mid-range spice and its uses. Typically coming from jariza peppers, Pimentón agridulce has more sharpness than pimentón dulce but it’s not as hot as pimentón picante.


How is Pimentón made?


Let’s follow the path of Pimentón de la Vera from seed to spice…

Every March specialist farmers sow the pepper seeds, initially in small pots before transferring the young plants into dedicated fields. Much of this is still done by traditional means, using traditional methods and basic machinery. The harvest period, which often involves whole families supported by seasonal workers heading out to pick the peppers, typically lasts from September until November. 

Once picked, the ripe peppers are collected into the drying houses, dedicated buildings equipped with tiny skylights in which the peppers can be safely smoked. In the drying house, or secadero, the peppers are placed whole on a wooden grid at a height of approximately 2m, and a small oak fire is lit beneath. The quality and the amount of wood used here is crucial in creating that signature smokiness in the final product. A farmer returns at least once per day to manually turn over the layers of peppers, ensuring each is smoked evenly. The drying process can last around two weeks. 

Next, the peppers are sent to a special paprika mill to be ground by electrically operated stone wheels. It’s vital that the milling is done slowly to prevent any friction heat that could damage or ‘cook’ the Pimentón. Once pulverised into a perfect powder, it’s packed and shipped around the world for use in spicing up all manner of meals. 

Scroll down to see some of our favourite recipes with Spanish Paprika! 


Where did Pimentón come from? 


We have Christopher Columbus to thank for our modern day relationship with Spanish Paprika. Five hundred years ago, pimentón was quite a journey away from the food it has now come to represent.

Columbus brought paprika back to Spain with him from his second trip to America, introducing it to the Catholic Monarchs at the time, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The distinctive potency of the pepper was alleged to be too much for the pair’s palate, but fortunately for us the monks of the San Jerónimo de Yuste monastery were dutiful with their distribution to other brothers of their order. The local climate was especially ideal for cultivating these peppers. 

Over time, the peppers spread through Extremadura and then eventually throughout all of Spain - first being used as a preservative for cured meats, later as a seasoning for cooked dishes. By the 17th century pimenton had earned its place in many of the iconic Spanish recipes we know and love today. 

Our Top Pimentón Recipes - Click the recipes to view:



Join the conversation 


Did you like our blog? Have you got your own ideas on how to use Pimentón in your own cooking? Come join the conversation on social media. Remember, if you’re posting about La Española, don’t forget to tag us so we can see! You can find us on Facebook and Instagram!