The story behind our 85 ASTA paprika
Most paprika fades to brick-brown in the jar before it ever hits a pan. An ASTA color rating is how professional buyers make sure that does not happen. Ours is milled to a verified 85.
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- Origin
- Sun-ripened sweet chilies milled to a verified 85 ASTA grade
- Tasting notes
- Sweet, earthy, vivid crimson
- Use with
- Rubs, paella, goulash, deviled eggs
- Heat
- Mild
- Formats
- 6 oz Jar, 8 oz Jar, 10 oz Jar, 2 lb Jug, 2.5 lb Jug, 3 lb Jug, 5 lb Jug
ASTA is a freshness number wearing a color name
The American Spice Trade Association color scale measures extractable color in ground chili. A higher number means more intact carotenoids, and carotenoids degrade with age, heat, and light. So while 85 ASTA is technically a color spec, what it really tells you is that the chilies were sound, ripe, and recently milled. Faded paprika is not just pale; it is stale.
Sweet, earthy, and doing half the work
Ours is a sweet paprika: sun-ripened chilies with the fruit-forward, earthy profile that carries goulash, paella, and barbecue rubs. In dishes like these, paprika is not a background note. It is the color of the finished plate and a third of the aroma. An 85 rating means a tablespoon delivers the deep crimson a recipe photo promises without doubling the dose.
Cooking with it
Bloom it in fat off the heat; paprika scorches fast and turns bitter. Stir it into warm oil at the end of sauteing onions, or dust it over deviled eggs and roasted potatoes where its color works raw. For rubs, it is the base that every other spice sits on.
Common questions
Is 85 ASTA hot?+
No. ASTA measures color, not heat, and this is a sweet paprika. It is mild; the warmth in a goulash comes from quantity, not capsaicin.
How should I store it?+
Away from light and heat, lid tight. Color grade fades with UV exposure, which is why we pack it in a full jar rather than a display shaker.