It is October and we are in the middle of paprika harvest and processing. Among autumn to-dos is paprika processing, which today is by no means easy and quick but a lot easier than in the past.
Until the 1930s all paprika pods were naturally hot and it was local farmers in the mid-19th century Szeged who started experimenting with decreasing the pungency or the hotness of the paprika fruit. Why was this done? Because, the paprika fruit was too hot even for the Hungarian taste and they wanted a spice that was consumable by everyone.
How was it done? All by hands, without using gloves! This was a hell of a work, because the hot particles that were removed from the paprika fruit were soon everywhere: on their hands, arms, clothes, faces, hair, in their nose and eyes and all sorts of other parts. Not only that, the heat affected family members also, because the heat and the burning sensation remained for a while, so a woman returning from work in the paprika processor’s house had to be careful in touching her children, let alone the husband! Soaking the hands in milk or putting thick layers of lard on the skin at the end of the day helped but a little. This job was traditionally done by women and despite all the heat and pain, working conditions were comfortable because neighbourhoods and families were working together in the processing.
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