How Old Is Goulash if Paprika Arrived Later

Question

Paprika is made from capsicum which did not make it to Europe much more recently than 1000 years. Is that not correct? How can goulash date so far back?

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Hi Alev -
You are correct, paprika was not introduced in Hungary until the early 1800's. However, the dish that is now referred to as "goulash," or "pörkölt "(derived from the Hungarian word for "burned") evolved from a similar dish in which cubed meat was cooked with onion and spices (with a ‘short sauce’, meaning a very small amount of liquid). In this dish, black pepper was used not only to give flavor and aroma to the food, but also as a preservative. Raw meat was rubbed and practically covered with ground pepper to keep it fresh longer. The pepper was used with salt, with sugar, or alone. When paprika was introduced in Hungary, Hungarians experimented with using it as a preservative and rubbed it on the raw meat as they did with black pepper. When this raw meat rubbed with paprika came in contact with the heat from the frying kettle, the paprika-covered meat formed a brown crusty surface with a pleasantly different taste resembling that of meat roasted over an open fire to the point of almost burning (pörköl). The meat treated with paprika reaches this taste without the actual burning. That’s why the new dish—the meat fried in small cubes with fat and onion—was called pörkölt.
So, while the version made with paprika has only been in existence since the early to mid-1800's, the basics of the dish, albeit made with black pepper instead, have been around for centuries.
Hope that helps!
Best,
The Milk Street Cooking Team

How Old Is Goulash if Paprika Arrived Later

Have a question for Milk Street experts?

Join the conversation