The best growing conditions for pimientos, as they are called here, are in southwestern Spain so it is not surprising that peppers have a longstanding tradition in Spanish cuisine. In addition to paella and tapas, paprika is one of the main ingredients in chorizo - a spicy, smoked sausage. The bright red powder is also used in many of our spice blends, such as László's goulash spice, sweet and spicy curry, and Frankie's barbecue spice.
The first pepper plants came here with Spanish explorers from South America in the 15th century. They first thought they had found a form of pepper. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the first sweet varieties were propagated without the burning-hot ingredient capsaicin. By the way, not all varieties are suitable for grinding into spice powder. Our spice powder is made from a special red pepper variety.
