Pimenton de la Vera

 

I’ve just come back from a fantastic few days in the north of Extremedura – the province of Spain that lies between Madrid and Portugal. I went specifically to photograph the processing of pimenton – Spanish paprika. I can’t believe Ive gone  through so much of my life cooking without this amazing spice. I’ve always had paprika on my shelf – but usually a pale red and utterly tasteless powder that I hardly bothered to use. But a few months ago I was introduced to the smoked paprika which comes from just one small valley in the centre of the country and my whole appreciation changed. Of course I’d tasted it before – its the main flavour in chorizo and widely used in Spanish cooking – but I’d never used it in my own kitchen, incorporating it into my own food. I think what I like so much about it is the depth of flavour. It’s just so powerful. I usually combine lots of spices when I cook but with this I don’t need anything else. Impressive!

Pimenton de la Vera  – La Vera being the name of the beautiful fertile valley it comes from – has the distinction of having “Denominación de Origin” which is a bit like champagne having to come from the region of Champagne. This accreditation is strictly controlled. The seeds used today are the same seeds that Columbus brought from the Americas over 500 years ago. He apparently gave them to Queen Isabella who in turn gave them to monks from 4 different monasteries around the country, one of them being the Monasterio de Yuste in the valley of La Vera.Pimenton de La Vera differs from the others because of its geographical location. Sitting below the mountains, it is too wet to dry the peppers in the sun so they have to be smoke dried which is what gives the amazing flavour. The hand picked peppers are dried in chambers on the farm where they are grown, in a  process that takes about 10 days. The drying rooms are on two levels – the fire below and the peppers piled 80cm thick on a wooden slatted platform above. The oak fires burn low and have to be attended to 24 hrs a day and the farms can have up about 9 or 10 of these going at a time Throughout the autumn, plumes of white smoke dot the valley and fill the air with the wonderful smell of roasting peppers.

 

There are only 18 mills certified to produce the final product – a 5 step process of grinding and cooling and although each sells the spice as a brand in different packaging, there is no difference from one to the other. They all produce three varieties – dulce (sweet), agridulce (bittersweet), and picante (hot) – and believe me, the hot is HOT!

 

 

 

I left the valley with red stains all over my clothes, the smell of smoke clinging to everything and a back seat full of more colourful cans than even I can handle!

Check out their website: http://www.pimentonvera-origen.com

 

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Joy j_anders@telus.net 154.20.203.61	Submitted on 2012/10/23 at 10:43 pm Lovely, amazing colour and an interesting story. I wonder if that is the same smoked paprika that we get this side of the world?! Thanks for this, and yes, I really enjoy the updates.
Stephanie Parker stephanie.parker@viu.ca 142.25.102.130	Submitted on 2012/10/22 at 2:39 pm Great to hear from you and the lovely paprika, stay safe and enjoy your lovely area, Steph
Diana Baird diana.baird@nl.rogers.com 174.116.26.235	Submitted on 2012/10/22 at 2:22 pm A fantastic story, and such evocative photographs! I look forward to being able to sample this special paprika – hopefully sometime soon – but will probably have to travel back to Spain before I can do so. Thanks so much for sharing.
Mirthalaznik Mirtha@tnmlimited.com 189.18.129.167	Submitted on 2012/10/22 at 2:06 am Muy interesante la nota ,fantástica las fotos ,gracias Sharon por permitirme este espacio de aprendizaje sobre este tema del pimentón ,me pareció excelente !!!!