The chilies used in the production of Pimentón de la Vera are not easy to get your hands on, enough reason to give it a try 
Pimentón de la Vera is usually found in powdered form in 3 grades of spiciness: sweet (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce) and hot (picante). The varieties used are Bola, Jaranda, Jariza and Jeromin. The sweet version is made of a mix of the Bola and Jaranda variety, the bittersweet version consists of a mix of Jaranda and Jariza and the hot version is made of the Jeromin variety. All varieties are smoked for 8 to 10 days before they are turned into powder.
Here's some more info from one of the producers: http://www.lachinata.com/index.php/lachinata?___store=en
I recently found a source of whole dried / smoked Pimentón de la Vera pods. I was very curious to know if the (also smoked) seeds would still be viable. So I went ahead and ordered a couple of boxes with smoked chilies, extracted the seeds and put them in my heated propagator.
The Dulce variety with Bola pods:
The Agridulce variety. Presumably a mix of Jaranda and Jariza pods:
The Picante variety. This is supposed to be the Jeromin...
As it is already a bit late in the season to start new seeds I only planted some Jeromin seeds. And I am happy to say that, after about 10 days, the first seed germinated!
To be continued!
Pimentón de la Vera is usually found in powdered form in 3 grades of spiciness: sweet (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce) and hot (picante). The varieties used are Bola, Jaranda, Jariza and Jeromin. The sweet version is made of a mix of the Bola and Jaranda variety, the bittersweet version consists of a mix of Jaranda and Jariza and the hot version is made of the Jeromin variety. All varieties are smoked for 8 to 10 days before they are turned into powder.
Here's some more info from one of the producers: http://www.lachinata.com/index.php/lachinata?___store=en
I recently found a source of whole dried / smoked Pimentón de la Vera pods. I was very curious to know if the (also smoked) seeds would still be viable. So I went ahead and ordered a couple of boxes with smoked chilies, extracted the seeds and put them in my heated propagator.
The Dulce variety with Bola pods:
The Agridulce variety. Presumably a mix of Jaranda and Jariza pods:
The Picante variety. This is supposed to be the Jeromin...
As it is already a bit late in the season to start new seeds I only planted some Jeromin seeds. And I am happy to say that, after about 10 days, the first seed germinated!
To be continued!
