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Paprika varitiy recomendations

My better half loves his paprika, I would love to be able to grow fresh for him, but have no idea what types are available or how hard it is to get quality seeds.
 
Are there different types of paprika peppers?
 
Are there quality vendors of those types?
 
I have checked several of the vendors that are members here ( well their sites) and so far nothing. Any sugestions?
 
Thank you,
Cheri
 
There are numerous types of Paprika but....
 
I grew Alma Paprika a couple of years ago with some success but if it's something you want to dry and use at a later date I'd advise growing 15-20 plants. These are a very watery pods and once dried there's next to nothing to show for it per pod.
 Using it fresh can enhance the dish you may be making but for saving/storing quanities it's well.... a pain in the butt. :P
 
One place for seeds....click here
another for seeds...here
Lots out there....
If that's too much a hassle try SpicesInc.com for some great Smoked Sweet Paprika.
 
Hope this helps some.
 
OhioHeat
 
I've grown and would recommend Alma Paprika and Feher Ozon, but there are several other varieties that I know of.  You can purchase seeds for those two varieties here.
 
Homemade paprika from peppers you've grown is a wonderful thing.  Good luck!! :)
 
Cheri,

I'm growing paprika varieties for the first time this year. Like you, I wanted to make my own fresh paprika. I've already powdered one small batch and I was pleased with the results: no heat but very sweet. The two varieties that have produced well for me are Szegedi 80 and Kurtovska Kapija. As other posters have commented, I wasn't impressed with Alma Paprika. I have seeds for a couple of other varieties that I will grow next year.

I have saved plenty of seeds for the two I've mentioned. I'll be happy to send you seeds. Just send me a message.

Tom
 
Hi Cheri
 
I had a similar conversation with Tom about this time last year.
 
I think it's worth bearing in mind that in some Eastern European countries the word Paprika means pepper. Where we might think dry concentrated red powder to a Pole or Hungarian it might apply equally to a thick fleshed wax pepper such as Hungarian Hot Wax or Alma Paprika. The Kurtovska Kapia Tom mentions is traditionally roasted and peeled and mushed into a preserve called Ajvar. It's a very fine thing and a much better use for that pepper than drying. Traditional Paprika varieties as we think of them originated in Hungary and I have had a happy purchasing experience with these people;
 
https://zkivetomag.hu/paprika
 
Szeged and Kalocsa are the towns/regions associated with paprika production in Hungary. Each town has a museum and an institution intended to develop production. Search these names and youll find a lot more information. If you look through the list on the zki website, there are 4 pages of Paprika (peppers) and you'll see that most of them are pale wax varieties. The last 5 or 6 entries are for powdered paprika production and are the real deal. (That's from Szegedi 20 onwards)The company was good to deal with and sent seeds promptly. The exchange rate meant that prices were cheap even after postage (within Europe)
 
I hope this helps.
 
Tom and I conversed originally over a Mallorcan paprika variety called Tap de Corti. It's a fine variety Tom how did you go with that?
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paprika_Tap_de_Cort%C3%AD
 
Thank you for the link and information.
 
I will have to look into import regulations and exchange rates.
 
His Grandparents were from Hungary, so being able to grow him some real  Hungarian peppers would be nice.
 
I would like to hear recommendations for paprikas as well. My wife likes Alma's dried, but as everyone noted, they're not amazing producers. I tried Leutschauer Paprika this year but my family found them too spicy. Any recommendations with very low heat and good productivity?
 
Hi Jeremy! Good to see you contributing your wealth of knowledge to this discussion. I wasn't able to get the Tap de Corti seeds you sent me to germinate. However, Adrian in Romania sent me Tap seeds from two different sources, and even with a late start I got pods from them.

Another paprika I grew is Szentesi Cseresznye. It produces a cherry-sized pod with a lot of seeds. It would be a lot of work to deseed them to make powder.

jblo, the two I mentioned previously had no heat and are good producers.
 
Luetschauer was my best produccer for Paprika variety. I also grew the Szegedi 80 and Kurtovska Kapija (and got them from Tom!). I have plenty of Luetschauer seeds if you would like to try that one.
 
Out of the three the Luetschauer had the largest pods by far and very thick walled. Nice mild flavor (which is odd that you found them too spicy.. mine were as mild as the Alma and others) and dried well. The alma Paprika followed by Szegedi were the least producing but that could have been the environment. I had the Luetschauer as one of my DWC hydroponic grows and the other two were just in soil.
 
Tom mentioned De-seeding and the Szegedi 80 and Kurtovska and Luetschauer were simple to deseed.
 
I grew 2 R-Naky plants from seeds from the Chile Pepper institute and they did well.  These are medium/large New Mexico style peppers that are mild.
 
 I got a lot of pods and they are good early as green, or let them ripen to red and dry out.  They have a deep red color and are mild but tasty!  -Tom
 
I've grown Pimiento Choriceiro this year, from seed given by a work colleague. It's a Basque pepper and grown by her dad on his allotment. Traditionally it's used as paprika in making Chorizo sausages. The pods are about 5cm (2") across at the shoulder and 25cm(10")  long, relatively thin walled, dark coloured. In their home location they're strung up to dry outside (not smoked like some spanish paprikas).
 
She used it to make this and it's a great flavoured paprika variety. 
 
http://spanishfood.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/patatasriojanas.htm
 
I can send seeds to someone who will share them. Tom?  :P
 
(They should do better than the Tap de Corti!  :rolleyes: )
 
I have Nora seeds too if interested.
 
http://www.elfogondelaperlagris.com/2014/02/diferencia-entre-pimiento-choricero-y.html
The pimientos choriceiros I've grown look like the ones in this recipe.
 
http://unpapelito.com/2013/06/15/mojo-picon-rojo/
 
OK Jeremy, you've got my attention. Both Pimiento Choriceiro and Nora would be nice additions to my collection of powder peppers. Thanks. We can work something out before seed planting time. I'm not sure what I have that I can send you in return. That said, I can recommend a New Mexico green chile called Big Jim. My three plants produced 3 or 4 pickings this year. I roast them and freeze them to use in Green Chile Stew. In fact I plan to make some this weekend. The main ingredients are the chiles, potatoes, and pork. A second chile, my favorite new chile this year, is Sinahuisa. It's much like a Serrano but I prefer it, and it's from a farming community in the Sonora region of Mexico.
 
kentishman said:
OK Jeremy, you've got my attention. Both Pimiento Choriceiro and Nora would be nice additions to my collection of powder peppers. Thanks. We can work something out before seed planting time. I'm not sure what I have that I can send you in return. That said, I can recommend a New Mexico green chile called Big Jim. My three plants produced 3 or 4 pickings this year. I roast them and freeze them to use in Green Chile Stew. In fact I plan to make some this weekend. The main ingredients are the chiles, potatoes, and pork. A second chile, my favorite new chile this year, is Sinahuisa. It's much like a Serrano but I prefer it, and it's from a farming community in the Sonora region of Mexico.
Hi Tom
 
I wasn't being clear. When I said share I was meaning I send one package of seeds to the U.S. and that person distributes to others within the country so I don't have to do multiple international mailing.
 
That said, Sinahuisa does sound interesting. And are your Big Jims big? There's a grow-the-biggest-pepper competition on the chillis galore forum and the variety for 2016 is...you guessed it...Big Jim!

Send me a pm with your address again. :P
 
Here's a late season P. Choriceiro in a 28cm frying pan. No ripe pics unfortunately.
 
 
I thought perhaps you meant that I could serve as your US distributor, and that will be fine. I did that a while back for MarcV and his Piment d'Espelette seeds. I wouldn't characterize the Big Jims I harvested as very big, but I don't have much experience with them, so I'm not sure what is typical. I think you'll like Sinahuisa: early and heavy yielder and an attractive plant. I'll Be in touch.
 
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