Paprikum – paprika mortar
One of the indispensable elements of the Hungarian culinary culture is hot paprika from Szeged and Kalocsa. Real hot paprika entwined with Hungarian national consciousness so much that it outgrew itself to be a cultural symbol which defines the paprika-like character of Hungarian people. Paprika from Szeged and Kalocsa is a real national spice which is used uniquely in the world’s gastronomy as a powder. In Hungarian households, dried hot paprika is commonly used to season soups and main dishes. However, there is no specific object for crushing and serving the grist neither in the hospitality industry, nor in households.
The Paprikum is intended to serve two purposes:
In the cultural system of the Hungarian hot paprika consumption there is a ritual-like role of the paprika which helps to strengthen the Hungarian paprika farming. The object itself is just a means inside the complex system where the emphasis is on the Hungarian cultural value and its protection.
Buy Hungarian paprika from the small-scale producer on the market or at the greengrocer to strengthen the Hungarian economy. Then dry the paprika in oven at 75 Celsius degrees for 8 hours. Store the dried paprika in a hermetic jar, protected from sunlight. Thus the freshness of the paprika will be conserved until the moment of consumption. The savour, strength and the high vitamin content of the dried paprika will be disengaged from the seeds during the process of the milling.
Drying in the oven is a process that prepares the paprika to a state for grinding as in mills. My purpose with the drying is to draw attention to the uniqueness of the Hungarian paprika.
In the rushing XXI. century people tend to overlook real values. If we stop for a while and take some time to our real values, then intrinsically every Hungarian people respects itself with respecting Hungarian cultural traditions.
The PAPRIKUM is made of red eloxed medical aluminum with an inner 1 mm thick stainless steel box to prevent the steel ball from interfacing directly with the aluminum. Depending on the time of shaking the steel ball we can produce coarse- grained or powder-like paprika grist.
toronyipeter 