IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong
Paprikapulver edelsüßsweet paprika
Dried, ground peppers from mild varieties of Capsicum annuum. It seasons with fruit sweetness and colour, not with heat.
It carries goulash, Zigeunersoße and Obatzda. In those dishes it is the main seasoning, not just the red tint.
Die Fallethe trap
Chile en polvo is not the same product. It is hot, and the usual blends carry salt and cumin.
Start a goulash with it and you get a Mexican dish under a German name. The sweetness is missing and the heat covers the meat.
Im Topfin the pot
Paprika burns fast. On high heat it turns bitter in seconds and the sauce cannot be saved after that.
So pull the pot off the flame, stir the powder into the onions and add stock or water straight away.
Kaufenwhere to buy
Spanish pimentón dulce is the right grab. Gourmet shops, City Market, Costco and Mercado Libre all carry it.
Pimentón de la Vera is smoked over wood. Excellent in chorizo, but in goulash it tastes of campfire.