Mortar and pestle: Get your inner chef vibes on and grab a mortar and pestle. Pop a handful of dried peppers in the mortar and use the pestle to crush and grind them into a fine powder.
While hot sauce is all about the heat, chili sauce often presents a balance between spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors. Therefore, hot sauce is typically used when you want to increase the spiciness of a dish without altering its fundamental taste, while chili sauce is used to add a new dimension of flavor.

In some cases, the paprika is being used primarily to add color to a dish, in which case you could add a small amount of some other red ingredient, which could be anything from a teaspoon of ketchup with a dash of chili powder mix to tomato sauce, finely pureed red peppers, tomato paste, or red beet powder. If you have bell pepper powder, use a 2:1 ratio, as the bell peppers are very sweet and don't have the kick of sweet paprika.
Most of the best quality paprika comes from either Hungary or Spain. These countries have very different ways of making the spice. In Hungary, the peppers are commonly cured and sun dried. In Spain, the peppers are often cured over smoldering oak logs in large barns for a deep and smoky flavor.
Smoked paprika is made by smoking the peppers before grinding them into a powder. It has a deep, smoky flavor and is often used in Spanish cuisine, where it is used to flavor chorizo sausage, paella, and other dishes. Smoked paprika is also used to add a smoky flavor to grilled meats and vegetables.
One of the main processes in crushed chili pepper factories is the cleaning and sorting of the chili peppers. The peppers are carefully inspected to ensure that only high-quality peppers are used in the production process. They are then washed and dried to remove any dirt or impurities before being crushed or ground into flakes.


In summary, the spiciness of paprika can vary depending on the type of pepper used to make it. Sweet paprika is mild and sweet, offering little to no heat, while hot paprika provides a noticeable level of spiciness. Smoked paprika can be sweet or hot, with the added dimension of a distinct smoky flavor. Understanding the different types of paprika can help in selecting the right variety to achieve the desired level of spiciness in a dish.