People are only just learning what paprika really is

People use paprika to give food a dash of sweet spiciness, while also adding vibrant red colour.

From deviled eggs to potato casseroles to barbecue sauce, the seasoning can be found on many dishes.

However, some people have had their minds blown after discovering exactly what the spice is made from.

A viral tweet from the account @simsimmaaz, posted in 2023, revealed the surprising truth behind the seasoning.

“Learning that paprika is just dried, and crushed red bell peppers was really shocking. Like I dunno why I thought there was a paprika tree somewhere,” she wrote.

People echoed her sentiments, also venting their shock.

One person wrote: “Like I could’ve sworn there was a paprika plant.”

“I was today years old,” another added while a third wrote: “What?? I don’t know what I thought it was, but it wasn’t this!!!”

A fourth added: “I just said this the other day while hearing someone say it on TikTok. IDK where I thought it came from either, but it damn sho wasn’t my first thought that it came from sum damn bell peppers

However, some people revealed that they had already been aware of paprika’s true origins, with one writing: “This is so funny cause in my language we call bell peppers paprika.”

In the Oxford English Dictionary , the English word for the seasoning comes from the Hungarian word for “pepper.”

Check out other reactions below.

According to the McCormick Science Institute , paprika is made from dried, crushed, ripened fruit pods of a mellow type of Capsicum annum species, which are sweet chili or bell peppers.

They also note that the optimal growing conditions for Capsicum annum peppers are sunshine and warm, fertile soil with properties of clay and sand with temperatures between 70 to 84°F (21 ° C to 28.8 °C).

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings