Szeged paprika
(Szeged paprika powder): made by milling of the ripened, after-ripened, and dried pods of traditional cultivated paprika grown on fields surrounding Szeged, which area has a favourable nature.

The red paprika origins in South Mexico, Central America and the Antilles Islands. The aboriginal Indian used it for healing and seasoning as well.
Cristopher Columbus wanted to reach the east Spice-Islands on the see. He returned from the New World with unknown spices—for example—with a never-before-seen present: a paprika plant.
In the beginning plant red pepper decorated baroque gardens of gentles in Europe, it arrived on trade ways to Turkey as well. From there it came to Hungary through the Balkan.
In the second half of the 16th century, Margit Széchy, a noble lady already had a plant in her garden called the Turkish pepper (at that time also called Indian pepper or heathen pepper). The name ‘paprika’ came from the 18th Century as a diminutive form for the south-slavish name of pepper (papar), then after the Hungarian usage, the word became international and universal.
The first note mentioning red pepper in Szeged dates back to 1748, the word paprika stood in an account book.
In Hungary, paprika was first used as a cure for intermittent fever, it later became a typical spice of Hungarian cooking.

While production remained for the means of family supply until the middle of the 19th century, by the turn of the century processing became serial and paprika trade important.
The paprika cultivation started in the region of Szeged, on the black-sand-soiled fields near to Szeged, on the flooded soil of river Tisza. In 1934 Szeged and its area was declared a closed zone, so paprika powder from outside of this area was forbidden to sell as Szeged paprika.
The harvest was done exclusively traditional by hands picking that had to be repeated about 3-4 times to assure that only the stalk-ripened pods of excellent quality will be forth processed.
A famous picture connected to Szeged is, red pepper strings hanging on the walls of houses.
The genetic basis of the exclusive quality of Szeged paprika is constituted by state accredited paprika species improved in the Szeged region. These species accommodated best to the nature of the region, because during their improvement they used the original taste, aroma, colour giving paprika population, which developed in this area during the century.

The Szeged paprika has his special features due to the care throughout more Centuries, to the professional knowledge and the traditional processing regarding red pepper, and the conditions are very favourable in Hungary for the warm-loving paprika as well. In the Szeged region the temperature-, sun- and rainfall circumstances are the most favourable of all the agricultural lands for red pepper cultivating.
Today’s people need vitamins, antioxidants in an increased degree.
We use red pepper mostly for seasoning in cooking, however vitamins and antioxidants in it help to keep our health too.
The Nobel Prize of Albert Szent-Györgyi, the vitamin C, the Szeged paprika are closely connected ideas, they made each other world famous.
Though colour giving carotinoids, provitamins, tokoferol substances in the paprika seeds are materials of the 21st century.
Paprika was earlier used as a medicine as well, today they produce noteworthy healing preparations out of it too, and in the future we can consume Szeged paprika as a spice for health.