annuum Good Seed Source for Paprika?

[NJChilehead]

Hey All,

My niece and I were at dinner the other night and she said that she'd like to try growing authentic paprika and making her own powder. Honestly, the thought has crossed my mind as well but I'm not sure where to go for the best/most authentic seeds. Looking for sweet, mild and hot if they are available. Many thanks for any help!

 

[CaneDog]

Have you seen this recent thread? There are many different peppers used for paprika. Hopefully more people will chime in with their favorites. I made a tasty paprika with Aleppo peppers not long ago. I considered it very tame for heat, but I suppose that can be relative.

 

[MarcV]

In the thread mentioned by CaneDog I talked about La Chinata. You can buy their dried whole smoked peppers in 3 variants. Those pods still contain seeds and they are reasonably viable. If you grow these, you are as close as possible to "the real thing". I have started all 3 kinds but only grew the sweet and hot variety to fruiting stage (see my previous season).
The sweet variety (ñora variety) was nothing to write home about but that could be growing conditions related. Thick walled, took ages to ripen, not a nice taste, though skin.
The hot variety (supposedly Jeromin) is a very nice pepper, not only for paprika but also for fresh use. Over the years I've grown it a number of times and I currently have a young plant growing again. See also the review from THSC in the mentioned thread.

 

[Marturo]

I thought that to make Pimento that you must grow Pimento peppers.
What is Pimento? A red ripe thick walled sweet pepper.

What is Paprika?

I grow a pepper that makes fantastic Pimentos. Lesya is a red ripe thick walled sweet pepper, that may make great paprika.

Not your normal Lesya the others are really thick & very sweet.

 

[MarcV]

That's a lesya with an attitude!

 

[NJChilehead]

@CaneDog @MarcV @Marturo apologies for the delay, it was quite a weekend. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction-this is very helpful! Marc, that Jeromin sounds very nice, I'd like to see if I can get my hands on it.

 

[MarcV]

I still have quite a few of those jeromin seeds but they turn out to be not very viable anymore. I currently have a plant growing. I hope to get some fruits of it so I can harvest some fresh seeds.

 

[NJChilehead]

I still have quite a few of those jeromin seeds but they turn out to be not very viable anymore. I currently have a plant growing. I hope to get some fruits of it so I can harvest some fresh seeds.

Good luck with it! I'm going to do a deep dive into that other thread again today, see what ideas I can come up with.

 

[MarcV]

I can always send you some seeds if you want to give it a try

 

[NJChilehead]

I can always send you some seeds if you want to give it a try

Marc, thank you so much for that offer! I'd like to make sure I'm not biting off more than I can chew before taking you up on that-to process the paprika I'd need a dehydrator and I'd also like to have a smoker, neither of which I have so far. I think my niece is in the same boat. I'd hate to accept the seeds and not grow them next year. Keep me posted as to how the seed saving goes, and I'll have a better idea soon if I'm ready to handle the processing! Thank you again!

 

[MarcV]

You may not be able to smoke them yet but they are also very nice for fresh usage!

 

[NJChilehead]

You may not be able to smoke them yet but they are also very nice for fresh usage!

Okay you talked me into it-I'll PM you soon!

 

[growyourown]

RE: needing a smoker and dehydrator

first of all, yes you certainly need a dehydrator. the ability to make powders (and conveniently save seeds) from peppers is invaluable.

my philosophy on buying items for hobbies is to start with a cheap one, to make sure you like and will actually use it.

a basic budget model dehydrator can likely be had for US$30 or less; the one i bought was CAN$45 and it has lasted me 5 years now. i've probably put 90 full days of use on it in that time, and it still works fine. i love having it, and whenever it finally gives out on me, i may consider buying a larger or fancier one, or i may just buy another cheap one since it serves my purpose.

a smoker on the other hand, is a larger purchase and heftier decision. if you already know you like smoked peppers (and meat and veggies, and you enjoy cooking outdoors often), then you might be certain you want to buy one.

if you are hesitant about whether you NEED to have one, you most likely know someone who owns one and you could ask to borrow it or have them do the smoking for you, so you can try it before you buy it.

but i would still start with an entry-level one if you do buy, so you can assess how frequently you actually use it, how you like its performance, what features it lacks that you would want in your next one.