Ford On Food

My wife is of Hungarian and German heritage. Growing up, she relished visits to her Grandfather’s home to indulge in all manner of Hungarian culinary delights.The corner-stone of this Central European cuisine is a distinctive blend of spices – of which paprika is ‘King’.There are very few aromas that beat the combination of onion, garlic and paprika frying in a pan. This simple combination of ingredients results in a depth of savoury flavour that is uniquely Hungarian.Paprika is the name commonly given to a wide selection of red powders, ground from various members of the chilli pepper family.Although there are many grades of paprika, they often share similar flavour characteristics such as sweet, savoury and subtle warmth.The differences in colour depth are due to the amount of ‘Capsanthin’ found in the ripe chilli pepper. And the scale of heat is dictated by the quantity of ‘Capsaicin’ which is found in the seeds. The non-spicy, sweeter paprika is made by grinding the dried chilli flesh without seeds, while