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Paprika originates from central Mexico, but it was brought to Europe in the 16th century by Christopher Columbus. Sometime after, paprika made its way to Hungary, and has been a staple food there ever since. Paprika is the Hungarian word for pepper. It’s the country’s national spice, and they spoon it on to pretty much any dish you can think of – from soups, stews and sauces to rice and eggs. It plays the starring role in Hungary’s most celebrated dish – goulash (a warming winter stew made from red meat, onions, potatoes and vegetables, served over egg noodles).

If you don't have any paprika in the house, you can use any number of alternate spices, as long as you realize that the flavor of the final product won't taste the same as it would with the sweet paprika. Use nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves instead of paprika in a deviled egg or potato salad recipe. Replace the paprika in chili with mace, mustard, garlic powder or cumin, or use ground ginger or black pepper instead of paprika in your favorite fried rice recipe.

Paprika can be made from several different varietals of the chile pepper family Capsicum annuum, though the different peppers all tend to be of the relatively long, tapered kind with thinner flesh. Fat, thick-fleshed sweet peppers, like a standard Bell pepper that you’ll find in your average grocery store, often don’t dry well enough to make a ground product and are prone to mold. They are valued for their bright red color as much as--or even more than--their flavor. The American Spice Trade Association, or ASTA, came up with a scale to measure paprika's color. The ASTA score goes from 50-180; 85 is a standard-grade color value. As the numbers go up, the color of the paprika is more saturated and vibrant.