Description
La Vera valley is in Extremadura, where pimenton is dried by a smoking process which creates the taste so typical in soups and stews of Leon and Castile. At harvest time, when the peppers have ripened, they are handpicked. Next to the fields are small, simple smoke houses, with concrete floors and wooden grids several feet above them. An oak fire is laid on the concrete floor, and the peppers are spread on the grid above the fire. The smoldering fire (only smoke, never flames) is maintained for ten to fifteen days, filling the surrounding countryside with the scent of smoking peppers. Our pimenton is more flavorful and aromatic due to its artisan and totally natural processing.
