'You're kidding': People are just realising what paprika is actually made from

"I dunno why I thought there was a Paprika tree somewhere."   

Have you ever stopped to wonder what goes into the delicious seasoning that makes many of your favourite meals pop with flavour? 

Well, if you're a fan of paprika, you might be surprised to learn what this fiery spice is actually made of.

Don't worry if you didn't know already - turns out that a lot of people didn't either.

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There's no 'paprika tree'

Herbs and spices often have straightforward names that reflect their origins. Take cumin powder, for example - it's made from dried cumin seeds.

And cinnamon? That sweet, spicy goodness comes from the inner bark of tree species in the Cinnamomum genus.

So it makes sense why one Twitter user, @simsimaaz, believed there was an actual 'paprika tree.'

But sometimes, there are some sneaky seasonings that don't give away their source so easily in their names - and one of those is paprika.

So what is the bright red powder, known for its smokiness and sweetness actually made out of?

Red capsicums!

Yep, it's just dried and crushed capsicum. 

If you do actually look at the origin of the name, it comes from the Hungarian word 'paprika' which is a diminutive of the Serbo-Croatian word 'papar', which means 'pepper'. 

So maybe the answer was there in front of us all along... 😂

Now the only thing we're left wondering is - can you make green and yellow paprika?!!

It's actually made from red capsicum. Image: @thegardner22

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"Wait WHAT. Mind blown"

The Tweet from @simsimaaz, where she admitted to just realising what paprika is made from has now racked up over 15.5k retweets and 170k likes, showing that the revelation is also new to many. 

People took to the comments to express their shock, while others, of course, said it as 'common knowledge.'

"I could have sworn there was a paprika plant," someone replied.

"I thought it was some exotic plant in a hot climate country," another admitted.

"Wait WHAT. You have well and truly blown my mind," one Tweet read.

"I thought everyone knew this, cmon," another commented.

Then others admitted to their own food-based misunderstandings. 

One person said: "You’re not as bad as me who didn’t realise guacamole is just avocados. I always thought it tasted familiar."

Omg sweetie, keep that to yourself.

This article was originally published in March 2023 and was updated in August 2023. 

Originally published as 'You're kidding': People are just realising what paprika is actually made from