Farmer Peter
"To preserve the taste of my grandmother's paprika powder and to pass on my land to my children healthier than it is now, that is the most beautiful thing there is. Even if it's very hard work."
Paprika Powder | Riverside Sweet Paprika
€7,99
50 grams, powder
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Single Origin
Unsprayed
100% Spice
Short chain
Sweet, earthy, and fruity
Gently fry in oil at the beginning of a preparation to allow the flavour to infuse into the food.
Do not let it burn, or it will become bitter.
Nice effect: sprinkle over the finished meal.
Pairs well with potato, cabbage, eggs, chicken, tofu, legumes, tomato, cheese.
This paprika powder is sweet, earthy, and warm. As soon as you smell it, you immediately recognize that it is made from bell peppers, grown, ripened, and dried with patience and precision.
Farmer Peter Szabó continues the traditional Hungarian production of paprika powder, despite competition from China and a shortage of farm labourers. He is one of the few farmers who succeeds in this, thanks to his great passion for the taste of high-quality paprika powder, his commitment to regenerative farming methods, and a lot of hard work.
This sweet paprika powder is perfect for stews, shakshuka, soups, and roasted vegetables. A pinch immediately adds more colour and a warm, full paprika flavour to your dishes.
How is this chain structured?
All our chains have their own story. Their own piece of land, their own farmer. It is grown and processed in a certain way. Travel with us to the story behind this taste.
The paprika is grown in the Kalocsa region, one of two major regions in Hungary where paprikas are grown for paprika powder.
Bell peppers are the fruit of a green annual shrub of South American origin. Peter grows bell peppers in fields and harvests approximately 7,000 kilograms of bell peppers each year. His goal is to only use organic fertilizer and regenerative farming methods.
Due to a specific insect that targets bell pepper blossoms, Peter is currently forced to use a crop protection product; otherwise, he would suddenly lose most of his harvest, and his business would not survive. He has been honest about this, and we have decided to work together to find a more sustainable alternative. That is what we understand by partnership with our farmers.
Growth cycle: March-Oct/Nov
Dried: Oct/Nov.
After harvesting, the peppers are hung in nets for four weeks to continue ripening. These 'salamis' hang in the sun, and the fruits develop their full flavor during this time. Peppers are full of sugars, which makes it difficult to dry or smoke them without burning. Even at low temperatures, things can go wrong, so Peter works very precisely. He never dries, grinds, or smokes his peppers above 55 degrees Celsius – according to him, that is the magic limit for the best flavor. Everything takes longer as a result, but the taste makes it worth it.
Interestingly, Peter always grinds the pepper seeds along with the rest, because they contain an oil that makes the pepper last longer and taste better. The white seed stems are removed as much as possible during grinding, as they can give a bitter taste.
Let's make an impact!
Each supply chain has not only its own story but also its own challenges. We are happy to explain what impact we make per supply chain and how we address specific challenges.
Peter is one of the few farmers who still works according to traditional farming methods, with norms and values deeply rooted in Hungarian culture. By promising him purchase volumes, Peter knows that he can count on a certain sales volume at a good price, allowing him to continue farming in this way.
Despite the significant role paprika plays in Hungarian culture, its production is declining. More and more farmers are stopping growing paprika because it is a labor-intensive process, and the import of paprika from China is causing market prices to fall below production costs.
There is little research into organic alternatives for crop protection for paprika (and chili). In addition, these must also be accepted by the Hungarian authorities before they can be used 'safely'. This makes it challenging to implement an alternative. A challenge we are taking on together with farmer Peter.
Due to climate change, temperatures are rising steadily in Hungary. This year it reached 48 degrees Celsius. Because Peter's fields are next to a river, he can irrigate them sufficiently. But if temperatures rise even further, alternatives will have to be found to protect the paprika from the heat.
Frequently asked questions
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Air, light, and moisture are detrimental to the quality of your spices. Therefore, store them in a well-sealed jar or tin that is not transparent (or in a dark kitchen cabinet or drawer). Also, do not store them above your stove, as cooking fumes can reach them there. Always ensure that spices from a repack are transferred as quickly as possible into a tightly sealed jar or tin.
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The shelf life of spices is primarily determined by the loss of flavor that occurs over time, as otherwise, they generally don't go bad. We use a shelf life of 2.5 - 3 years after harvest. This depends partly on the time of packaging and also whether they are whole spices that you have to grind yourself or pre-ground powder.
Spices in the supermarket are often already 2-3 years old before they are even packaged and are then given a shelf life of another 3-5 years. Primarily use your senses to judge if it's still good. At some point, there's just no flavor left, which is a shame for that beautiful meal!
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We don't have organic certification, even though our spices do meet these standards. All farmers work in harmony with nature and without pesticides, but the certification process is unfortunately very expensive. It's actually unaffordable for small farmers. And we want to show them that it is worthwhile to grow spices sustainably. That there are people willing to pay for a quality natural product and that they don't first have to make a huge, impossible investment in the form of certification.
Some of our farmers do have the certificate, by the way. Cooperatives, for example, can apply for the certification process jointly, which makes it a lot more affordable. But to be allowed to put this on the packaging, our entire chain would also have to be certified, including the Social Workshop where the spices are packaged. That is currently not possible because they also work for other non-organic producers. So in short: no, we are not officially certified, but the quality and way of working are at least as good.
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Single Origin means that a product comes from one specific place. Often, harvests from different places, sometimes even from different countries and different years, are mixed together. Traders do this to develop the cheapest possible product with a consistent taste. With us, you know exactly where your spices come from, right down to the name of the farmer. This also means that the quality can sometimes vary, as it is a natural product. For example, one year may be drier than another, which can lead to a change in taste. But our farmers always strive for the highest possible taste experience, and you can taste it!
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We always strive to purchase the latest harvest. Of course, it can sometimes happen that we still have some of the previous harvest in stock, while the new harvest is already ready. So we cannot always guarantee that you will receive the very latest harvest, but we do strive to do so as much as possible. On the packaging, you will find a QR code leading to a page where you can find out exactly when your spices were harvested and when they were filled into the tins/bags. With this, we aim for complete transparency in our process.
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We ship to most European countries, but this naturally involves higher shipping costs. Would you like to order from a country, but it's not possible? Please contact us so we can look into the options.
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At the Siza Social Workplace, they do their utmost to pack orders the day after they are placed. When it's busy, it might take an extra day. They don't work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so if you order on a Thursday, for example, it will take a bit longer for your package to be shipped.
Once the packages are ready, they are collected by the Groene Rijders and delivered by their bike couriers in the areas they serve, or outsourced to PostNL. Depending on how busy they are, they also aim to deliver within 1 business day.