La Vera pepper-drying secadero
The traditional two-level pepper-drying building used for Pimentón de la Vera puts a wooden drying floor above an oak or holm-oak hearth, with heat and smoke rising through the peppers.
Traditional method
Pimentón de la Vera
Smoked paprika (pimentón) · Pimentón de La Vera DOP
Spanish smoked paprika from Capsicum peppers dried over oak or holm-oak smoke in a dryer called a secadero, then ground. Protected by a designation of origin in La Vera.
A smoked spice from La Vera
Pimentón is Spanish smoked paprika. The name covers several grades, and the most common in accounts is the one from La Vera, a district in Cáceres in Extremadura. That paprika is dried over oak or holm-oak smoke, which gives it its smoky taste and smell. Its designation of origin sets the area, the variety and the drying method.
The product is a spice, not a sauce or a cured food. Cooks use it in stews, rice dishes, sausage and grilled meat, and it is sold in sweet, bittersweet and hot grades.
Sources for this section
The secadero
The drying happens in a secadero, a two-level dryer. Oak fires burn on the lower level, and peppers are laid on a wooden grid above the smoke. Gases leave through loose roof tiles. Accounts describe the structure in more detail than the household equipment that might copy it, and they do not establish that a domestic smoker gives the same result.
Sources for this section
Turning, drying and grinding
Ripe, healthy fruit is turned by hand during drying so that it dries evenly. Drying normally takes 10 to 15 days, and sources differ: one retailer gives about two weeks, and another adds a few days over a slightly warmer fire at the end. When dry, the peppers are ground, traditionally in stone mills.
The grade follows the pepper and the process. Sweet, bittersweet and hot powders are sold separately.
Sources for this section
History
The designation of origin and its production scale are current facts. The dating of oak smoke drying in La Vera is not established in accounts reviewed.
Ingredients
Scaling: not applicable
Ripe red peppers of the authorised varieties Jaranda, Jariza, Jeromín and BolaUse ripe, healthy, clean fruit of the four varieties named in the protected designation. The official single document lists Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum longum L.; the record does not infer a separate species for each variety.
Amount not stated
No weight is given in accounts.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Household smoke-drying without a validated set-up
Accounts describe a commercial dryer. Smoke from an uncontrolled fire, and mould or insects on drying peppers, are not controlled by any household method given in accounts.
Hazard sourceNo household drying method is established in accounts. Do not treat a home smoke-drying attempt as the designated product.
Store ground paprika sealed and dry; no storage limit is given in accounts.
- Select healthy, ripe pepper fruit of authorised varieties and discard damaged fruit.
- Dry the peppers in a secadero, a two-level dryer. Oak or holm-oak fires burn on the lower level, and the smoke and heat rise to the peppers on a wooden grid. Gases escape through loose roof tiles.
- Turn the fruit by hand so that it dries evenly. Drying normally takes 10 to 15 days. Sources differ on the length, and one retailer describes about two weeks.
- Finish the drying over a slightly warmer fire for a few more days, as one retailer describes.
- When the peppers are dry, grind them. Traditional stone mills are described.
- Grade the powder: sweet (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce) or hot (picante). Keep it sealed and dry.
Places
La Vera, Cáceres
Documented preparation · Region evidenceThe designated area is a defined district. The protected name does not cover paprika dried by other methods.
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Equipment
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Sources
WikipediaIdentity · Geography · Process overview
PaprikaPimentón de la Vera is dried by smoking, typically with oak wood, and is a designation of origin.
The La Vera crop covers about 1,500 hectares and produces about 4.5 million kg a year.
Three grades: dulce, agridulce and picante.
Cited in: A smoked spice from La Vera; The secadero; Turning, drying and grinding
MasterClassMethod
Pimentón Guide: 4 Types of Spanish Smoked PaprikaOak or holm-oak smoke, with drying over about two weeks in one retailer account.
Daily hand turning and grinding in stone mills, as one account describes.
Cited in: Turning, drying and grinding
European Union, Official JournalIdentity · Geography · Process overview
Pimentón de la Vera — approved standard amendment and single documentThe EU single document names the authorised pepper varieties Jaranda, Jariza, Jeromín and Bola, and lists Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum longum L.; the peppers are harvested ripe, healthy and clean.
The product must be dried with oak and/or holm-oak wood in the traditional fashion of La Vera and ground within the designated area.
Cited in: A smoked spice from La Vera