What Is Paprika Made Of? (Spoiler: It’s Not From a Mysterious Spice Tree!)

You’ve shaken it over deviled eggs.
You’ve sprinkled it on roasted potatoes.
You’ve seen it in spice racks, labeled in tiny red tins…
But have you ever stopped to ask:
“Wait… what is paprika, anyway?”
Turns out — you’re not alone.
A viral social media post recently sent the internet into a full-on identity crisis when someone revealed the truth:
🔥 Paprika is just dried, ground red bell peppers (capsicums).
No magical “paprika plant.”
No secret spice bush.
Just regular red peppers — dried and crushed into that vibrant red powder we all know and love.
And honestly?
The world reacted like they’d been lied to their whole lives.
🤯 Why Were People So Shocked?
Because most of us never really thought about it.
We just assumed: