The words sound like a line from a children's tongue twister. But in fact they show the development of the word "paprika".
The Spanish called this plant which arrived from America pimiente. When it was taken by Italian ships to the Balkan peninsula, the merchants there for simplicity's sake used the Greek word for pepper and called it peperi or piperi. The Slav agricultural workers modified the Greek word to fit in with their own language and it became known as piperke, peperke or paparka.
From that stage very little change was necessary for it to become established in Hungarian as paprika. It is impossible to say exactly when and how this happened. It was strictly forbidden by the Turks for any Hungarian peasant living in the occupied parts of the country to plant paprika. Anyone caught sodoing faced the death penalty. So it was only in the utmost secrecy, faced with enormous difficulty and danger that Hungarian peasants managed to acquire the seeds, grow and prepare the paprika spice, which soon became a great favourite. It was grown in secret for 150 years, at first only by the peasants, before gradually becoming established in the kitchens of the gentry. Count Hofmannsegg, during his travels around Hungary in the years 1793 and 1794, wrote an account in a letter addressed to his sister of a magnificent dinner he had attended at the invitation of the Count of Baranyavár.
"It was suggested," he wrote, "that I sprinkle my food with ground paprika. It is the Turkish pepper that they call paprika here. I did as they advised and tasted it. At first I experienced a stinging sensation, but this was soon replaced by a pleasant warmth in the stomach." As he continued on his journey through Hungary, the Count grew more and more fond of the spice, so much so that in another letter to his sister he wrote, "I have eaten the Hungarian national dish, meat spiced with paprika. It has an exquisite flavour and must surely be extremely good for the health, for I have consumed vast quantities of it, often late at night and not experienced the slightest malaise. It would have been impossible to eat such large amounts of meat prepared in any other way without feeling somewhat ill. It is undoubtedly the consumption of paprika that prevents it... and I must say that it is exceedingly enjoyable."
The fourth important feature of paprika
is its beautiful colour and delicious aroma. As previous recipes have already shown, the best results are obtained when paprika is added to hot fat, which releases the full colour and aroma. The combination of chopped onion fried to a golden brown in the fat and paprika sprinkled on top form the basic character of numerous Hungarian dishes. There is no secret to success, just a little care and attention is required, and that is the essence of the fourth important feature of paprika. Do not add the paprika to the pan over a high heat, because it will turn brown and taste bitter. In order to avoid this mistake, add a little meat stock or water to the pan after adding the paprika. Another equally successful method is to add the washed meat immediately after the paprika. This will have the same effect of reducing the temperature. The cooking process can now be completed, the meat will turn a beautiful colour and have a delicious flavour thanks to the paprika with which it has been cooked.
