Paprika

PAPRIKA (which see) is a Hungarian red pepper made from the flesh only of a variety of the Common Capsicum.

PEPPER.

Fresh. The fresh "peppers" cultivated as a vegetable are mild-flavored, large-fruited varieties of capsicums. They may be prepared for the table in many ways —"stuffed," mixed with hashed meat, in sauces and soups, etc. To many people, the especially sweet types are enjoyable eaten raw as a fruit. All kinds are extensively used in the commercial manufacture of condi ments and sauces.

Fresh peppers are now in season all the year, being in the East cheapest dur ing the summer months when the market is supplied by local growers.

The winter's supply comes in large part from Cuba and Porto Rico. Some grades are very choice, arriving in small crates as carefully packed as peaches and bringing high prices. These go princi pally to hotels and restaurants.

Florida also ships early peppers ; Virginia, around Norfolk, comes next— and then, as the season advances, many other states—New Jersey being the main source of supply for the New York mar ket. Immense quantities are grown in

the vicinity of Vineland, N. J., by Italian farmers.

The winter sale of the dried fruit for home use is an industry of steadily increas ing importance.

In the tropics the capsicum is a perennial, but in the United States it is cultivated as an annual. It is easily grown in any rich soil, and in almost any part of the United States. It should be started early in a hot-bed, or in a green-house, and treated simi larly to the tomato and egg-plant.

There are many varieties, differing chiefly in the shape of their fruit, which, when ripe, turns to a red, yellow or dark violet color—shiny and brilliant when fresh, but becoming duller and wrinkled in drying. The types most commonly grown are the Bell, Ruby King and Long Red Cayenne. Other popular kinds are the Sweet Moun tain, Golden Dawn, Red Cluster and Spanish, the last-named being generally preferred for Oyster Cocktails.