Description
The Pimentón de la Vera PDO is the paprika extracted by peppers from Ocales group (Jaranda, Jariza and Jeromín) and from Bola variety, belonging to the Capsicum annum L. and Capsicum longum L. species.
Production Area
The production area of Pimentón de la Vera PDO is situated in La Vera, Campo Arañuelo, Valle del Ambroz and Valle del Alagón, in the northern side of Cáceres district, in the Extremadura Autonomous Community.
Production Method
The seed beds are prepared from February to April, and then the small trees are planted out between May and June. The fruits for milling must be fully red, ripe and free from pest attacks. After picking, which is hand-made, the fruits are dried with oak tree or durmast smoke for about 10-15 days. The dried peppers, called cascaras, are brought to the mills to be milled. This traditional milling process includes the peppers' passage through the piedras de transmitir. The powder obtained, to which a minimum part of vegetal oil is added, is finally packed and labelled.
Appearance and Flavour
The Pimentón de la Vera PDO is bright red-coloured, has strong and penetrating flavour with a smoked touch. Generally, depending on taste, paprika is classified in three types: Sweet from Bola type, Bitter-Sweet achieved from Jaranda and Jariza varieties or Piquant obtained from Jeromín, Jariza and Jaranda types.
History
The tree from which Pimentón de la Vera PDO is extracted originates in Centre and South America. It was brought to Spain by Christopher Colombo, when back from his third journey, to use it as a spice to replace pepper, which was imported from Orient. The cultivation of pepper in the production area goes back to the 16th century, while the transformation process to obtain paprika started a century later.
Gastronomy
The Pimentón de la Vera PDO is stored in dry and ventilated rooms. The product is used as seasoning for different types of dishes. It matches well with mushrooms, eggs, meat and plucks, seafood, pasta and rice, in addition to season vegetable creams and soups. It is also used as an ingredient to prepare tasteful biscuits.
Marketing
The product is sold only as Pimentón de la Vera PDO in the variants Sweet, Bitter-Sweet and Piquant. It is generally packed in metal packs, which guarantee a very good level of conservation, with a weight going from 70 to 175 gr for home use and of 380 gr, 800 gr, 2.65 kg and 5.4 kg for catering. However, it can be found also packed in packets weighing 1,000, 500, 250 and 100 gr or in bags of 5, 19, 15 and 25 kg.
Distinctive Features
The very good quality of Pimentón de la Vera PDO is due to the traditional production methods used like artisanal smoke drying and milling made at the emery stone mills.
