Ground Pimiento

[ambra]

I accidentally bought Pimiento and have no idea what it is. I googled it of course and got that it's a sweet red pepper.

One site, wisegeek, said if it's ground and dried it's just Paprika. Is that true?

And what can I do it with it??

Bunches of recipes came up for pimiento cheese which is not something I am looking for.

[Anna N]

The pimiento in my pantry is smoked Spanish paprika and you could google recipes using it if that is what you think you have. It has a very smoky aroma so should be easy to determine.

[Richard Kilgore]

Do you know where it is from - country, region? If it's in a can, it should say.

[lesliec]

If it's Spanish paprika, which seems likely, use it as for any other sort of paprika but watch your quantities - it's strong stuff. If a recipe requires a tablespoonful, a teaspoonful is likely to be more than enough (depending, I suppose, on how much smoke you can take).

[Chris Hennes]

Just make sure it's not really Jamaican "pimento," which to us is Allspice. Probably not a substitute for paprika in that case!

[djyee100]

If you can, pls give us the name on the label and the country of origin. Then we can figure out what you have and make suggestions.

[ambra]

Oh, it doesn't say. It says it was bottled in Italy. I just opened it, and it smells like spice mix. I guess it's probably the stuff they use to make Panforte, Pan Pepate and the like. (I live in Siena.) Crap. I was kinda looking forward to having Smoked Paprika.

The bottle was covered in brown paper packaging and I was reaching for Cardamom and somehow arrived home with Pimento. And I hadn't wanted to open it thinking I would just return it but what the heck, it was only 2,50 Euros!

Thank you all, besides spice cakes, pan forte and the like anyone have a good recipe?

Edited February 17, 2010 by ambra (log)

[judiu]

Try this: make a pice of toast from (pardon) crappy white bread (if you have any) butter lightly (to help carry flavors) and sprinkle on a touch of your spice mix .Eat. Evaluate the flavor(s) in the mix. Is it spicy hot? Salty? Sweet spices, like clove and cinnamon? That way, you can get a better idea how to use it, and (if it's totally revolting) you've only spent the cost of a slice of bread and a little butter.