Pepper, Hungarian
---Synonyms---Paprika. Sweet Pepper. Grains of Paradise.
Paprika, or Hungarian Pepper, a tasteless cayenne, is recognized by the German Pharmacopoeia, and in the United States is imported in three grades. The first grade is savoury and of a fine red colour; it is made of the selected pericarp, the stems and placenta removed, the seeds first washed, then ground. The second grade is made by grinding the entire pod with the stems. Third grade is all the waste and spoiled pods being ground together, the residue of other grades. This is a yellowish colour and much more pungent than the other. Paprika is generally made from Croton annum, and sometimes called Sweet Pepper. It is mostly used to dilute the strength of other powdered chillies, and it is used by bird fanciers to improve the colour of canaries. (This is the paprika which flavours so many Hungarian dishes. - EDITOR)
Grains of Paradise, Guinea Grains, Melegueta or Mallaguetta Pepper, from Ampelopsis Grana Paradisi, or Habzeli of Ethiopia (Kanang of Ethiopia). Two kinds of these grains are known in the English markets, one plumper than the other. One may be that imported into America from West Africa, and into England from plants introduced into Demerara, where they are thought to be a product of A. Melegueta. They resemble Pepper in their effects, but are seldom used except in veterinary practice and to give strength to spirits, wine, beer, and vinegar. The seeds have a rich reddish-brown colour.
