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Paprika is Hungarian for pepper, and comes from red, usually sweet peppers, or capsicum. The most common paprika is mild in heat but large in flavor and color. The peppers are dried and ground into fine powder. In New Mexico we do the same thing with red peppers but we don't call it paprika. In Texas they use red chili peppers, ground into a powder, add some cumin to it, and call it chili powder, then use way too much of it in their chili con carne, or just chili, since it is all con carne.

Capsicum has been used in natural healing for centuries, and is loaded with healthy nutrients, Vitamin C being only one of the many powerful ingredients our bodies require for good health.

In cooking, it adds color to potato salad or pasta salad, sprinkled on top, or a lot of base flavors if mixed into the salad, or both. Smoky paprika is ground smoked peppers and it adds a lot of extra smoky flavors to any dish, like barbecue or baked beans.

Probably the most common uses of paprika is on chicken or in Hungarian meat balls, but it can be incorporated into almost any type cuisine or recipe. Add it to your arsenal of culinary weapons and experiment. If you want to zip up your boring meat loaf, paprika is a great start.

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