So I was scrolling through recipe videos last night when this Spanish cooking channel mentioned “pimientón.” My brain went: wait, is that paprika or just regular pepper? Totally got stuck in a loop trying to translate it in my head.
Digging Out Old Language Books
Grabbed my dusty Spanish dictionary first thing this morning. Flipped to the P section and found:
- “Pimiento” = fresh pepper like bell peppers
- “Pimienta” = black peppercorns
- “Pimentón” = the powdered spice
Okay cool, but the dictionary used both “paprika” and “red pepper” for pimentón. That’s exactly where my confusion started!
Testing with Actual Ingredients
Pulled everything from my spice rack: smoked paprika tin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper grinder. Opened Google Translate on my phone (didn’t trust my memory) and spoke into it:
- Holding paprika: “This is pimentón!” → translated to “paprika”
- Holding bell pepper: “This is pimiento!” → “pepper”
- Shaking black pepper: “This is pimienta!” → “pepper” again
Then dumped ground paprika into a bowl saying “pimentón” three times like a weirdo. Felt pretty stupid but hey, it stuck in my head now.
The Lightbulb Moment
Texted my cousin who married a guy from Barcelona. Broke it down:
- “If a recipe says ‘add pimentón’ you grab paprika powder”
- “If it says ‘add pimiento’ you chop fresh peppers”
He sent back a voice note laughing: “Yep, we don’t even say paprika here. If someone asks for paprika at the market, they’ll get blank stares. Always say pimentón!”
What Actually Cleared It Up
Finally opened my paprika tin – smelled it, tasted a pinch. That distinctive sweet/smoky flavor? Way different than black pepper or fresh peppers. Realized languages can overlap, but taste doesn’t lie. Ended up sprinkling the stuff on eggs while muttering “pimentón” like it owed me money.
So conclusion: both terms get used in English translations, but in Spanish cooking, pimentón = paprika spice always. Case closed.
