smoky · deep-red-fruit · roasted
PDO 2007
Pimenton de la Vera DOP
EU-protected origin
2 weeks
of oak-wood smoking
low slow smoke, no heat
3 grades
Dulce, Agridulce, Picante
sweet, bittersweet, hot
16th c.
Hieronymites at Yuste
brought seed from Americas
Pimenton de la Vera is the true smoked paprika, a Capsicum annuum powder from the Tietar valley of northern Extremadura, Spain, granted PDO status in 2007. Four local cultivars are authorised — Jaranda, Jariza, Bola and Jeromin — planted on the alluvial flats between Jarandilla de la Vera and Plasencia. After harvest the fruit is carried up to slatted wooden drying barns called secaderos where it is smoked for ten to fifteen days over a low, continuous fire of holm-oak and Pyrenean-oak wood. This slow, cold cure (internal temperature under 60 C) is what sets it apart from Hungarian edes paprika, Moroccan felfla harra or any oven-dried chile powder: the pepper absorbs phenols from the smoke while its carotenoids concentrate to a deep brick red. After smoking the pods are stone-milled, often several times, into a fine powder. The PDO defines three grades by cultivar blend and capsaicin: Dulce (sweet, mostly Bola and Jaranda), Agridulce (bittersweet) and Picante (hot, richer in Jeromin). Smoked paprika is the backbone of chorizo, sobrasada, pulpo a la gallega, paella, patatas bravas and migas extremenas.
Tasting notes
smoky · deep-red-fruit · roasted
Ash-smoke, roasted red pepper and a faint note of dried tomato. Dulce is fruity and warm, Picante brings a slow 500 to 1,500 Scoville burn behind the smoke, Agridulce sits between the two. Colour transfer is aggressive: a teaspoon turns fat, rice or broth deep brick red within seconds of hitting warm oil.
Flavor compass
La Vera, Extremadura, Spain.
PDO since 2007.
Sweet grade, ground from Ocales, Jaranda or Jariza cultivars grown exclusively in the La Vera valley, Cáceres. No detectable heat, deep brick-red, the dominant note is pure holm-oak smoke with a soft dried-tomato sweetness. The default pimentón for chorizo, paella and patatas a la riojana.
Bittersweet grade, blending sweet Ocales with a small proportion of hotter Jeromín pods. Slight tingle (500-1 000 SHU), a more complex roasted-pepper profile with smoke, caramel and toasted hazelnut. The grade Spanish chefs reach for when a single pimentón has to do all the work.
Hot grade from pure Jeromín pods, 2 000-4 000 SHU. Darker, rustier red, assertive pepper heat backed by the same slow holm-oak smoke. Essential for sobrasada, morcilla, pulpo a feira and the canonical Iberian bean stews of northern Spain.
Capsicum annuum seeds started under cover — Jaranda, Jariza, Bola, Jeromin cultivars, each with its shape and weight.
Young plants go into the La Vera valley — Gredos foothills, north-facing, granite soil, mild humidity off the Tietar river.
Red pods are hand-picked when fully coloured. Small growers still pick in baskets.
Peppers dry on slatted wooden racks over a slow oak-wood fire for 10-15 days, turned daily — the signature of La Vera.
After smoking, peppers are stone-ground into fine powder, then blended to Dulce, Agridulce or Picante grades.
Traditionally packed in airtight tins — smoked paprika fades fast in light. Use within 8-12 months.
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
La Vera's two-week oak-wood smoke drives phenolic compounds (guaiacol, syringol) deep into the capsanthin-rich flesh — smoke becomes the spice.
300-500
ASTA colour units
deep crimson Dulce
0.02%
Capsaicinoids (Picante)
Dulce has near-zero
14%
Moisture
after smoke-drying
15 ppm
Guaiacol
from oak smoke
Not aroma — the deep red pigment that defines visual identity.
Sister carotenoid, deepens colour toward brown-red.
Phenolic smoke signature from oak wood — warm, medicinal, smoky.
Vanilla-smoky edge, sweeter than pure guaiacol.
Clove-smoke phenol from hardwood lignin.
Heat molecule, only in hot grade — Dulce is near-silent.
| Pepper | Capsanthin | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Pimentón Dulce (La Vera) Caceres · sweet, full smoke | 500 SHU | 0.005% |
Pimentón Agridulce Caceres · bittersweet balance | 1,500 SHU | 0.015% |
Pimentón Picante Caceres · hot, full smoke | 3,000 SHU | 0.03% |
Hungarian sweet paprika Kalocsa · sweet, no smoke | 500 SHU | 0.005% |
Espelette AOP Labourd · no smoke, fruit-forward | 4,000 SHU | 0.04% |
La Vera, Cáceres, Extremadura · est. 1920
“The most internationally visible DOP Pimentón de la Vera producer, fourth-generation family business still smoking pods on holm-oak fires in Aldeanueva de la Vera.”
MethodsPods are hand-harvested in October, laid on wooden-slat floors of the secadero above smouldering holm-oak logs, and smoke-dried for 10-15 days at 55-65 °C while turned by hand twice daily. Dry pods are de-stemmed, de-seeded according to grade (full for dulce, partial for agridulce, none for picante) and stone-milled in small batches, then sieved to DOP mesh and rested before canning in tinplate.
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
From the Extremadura smokehouses out to every tapa bar in Madrid — pimenton is Spain's house red.
Cured pork sausage coloured and flavoured by generous Dulce or Picante.
The rice's amber-red base is built on pimenton and saffron.
Fried potato cubes under a pimenton-tomato brava sauce.
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
بابريكا مدخنة
烟熏红椒粉
Smoked Paprika
Paprika fume
Gerauchertes Paprikapulver
धूम्रपान पेपरिका
Paprika affumicata
スモークパプリカ
Colorau fumado
Pimenton de la Vera
Protein
Plant
It is the smoked paprika produced in the La Vera valley of northern Caceres, Extremadura, under Spanish DOP status (confirmed at EU level in 2007). The region uses four authorised Capsicum annuum cultivars — Jaranda, Jariza, Bola and Jeromin — smoked over oak wood for ten to fifteen days, then stone-ground. Other smoked paprikas exist, but only La Vera carries that DOP seal.