Paprykarz szczeciński
Encyclopedia
Paprykarz szczeciński is a Polish
paste made by mixing fish paste
(around 50%) with rice
, onion
, tomato
concentrate, vegetable oil, salt
and a mixture of spices including chilli pepper powder. It was introduced in the 1960s. It is only available as canned food. It was inspired by African chop-chop. Due to larger content of the fish paste, it has a more distinctive and spicier taste than the similar Asian otak-otak
.
created the first long range fishing company of Szczecin
, and in 1962, the company was merged with a canning
factory, creating the fishing and canning company PPUDiR Gryf (Przedsiębiorstwo Połowów Dalekomorskich i Usług Rybackich "Gryf"). The company became the leading fishing company in communist Poland, only to go bankrupt, like many state owned companies, with the fall of communism.
In the early 1960s the company started fishing and harvesting operations near the coasts of West Africa
. Crews of reefer ships were exposed to varieties of African food, including chop-chop – a paste made of minced fish meat (especially pagrus
meat) and pima. In 1965 the company's laboratories released the first series of artificially designed paste, where African spices were replaced with cheaper ingredients available in Europe. The first cans of paprykarz were produced in either 1965 or 1967. Its invention is attributed to the company's then-chief of production, Wojciech Jakacki. The creation of the Szczecin paprikas was the side effect of "leftover management" in the company's production facilities. The paste contained pieces left after cutting ice blocks with various species of frozen fish. The specific ingredients of paprykarz changed over time, as Gryf fishing ships changed their fishing locations. The chili powder changed from African pima to a Hungarian product. The quality is said to have degraded over time.
Since then, the product has been exported to over 32 countries, including the USA, Japan
, Jordan
, Liberia
, Côte d'Ivoire
and Togo
. Currently it is produced by various firms in Central Europe, mainly Poland
, Germany
and the Czech Republic
. In Colombia
, due to its popularity, the Polish product was copied locally and sold with a label "Made in Europe". The paprykarz sczeciński can with a Gryf logo was a well recognized product in Poland and in many countries where it was sold.
Paprykarz represented a high volume of Gryf productions, in some periods - about 50% of cans made by the company were of that label. In modern Poland, although Gryf no longer exists, the name paprykarz szczeciński has been viewed as legally unrestricted, and several new fishing and canning companies produce their versions of paprykarz, but mostly using fish from inland waters rather than the mix of ocean fish that the original paprykarz contained. In the mid-2000s, West Pomeranian Voivodeship
where Szczecin is located, started efforts to reclaim the use of the name for canning companies located in its territory, and to obtain the European Union
's Protected Geographical Status
for the product.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
paste made by mixing fish paste
Fish paste
-Fermented products:* Ngapi: a fish paste used in the Cuisine of Burma* Petis Ikan: a salty dark fish paste used in the Cuisine of Indonesia, mostly Madurese....
(around 50%) with rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
concentrate, vegetable oil, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and a mixture of spices including chilli pepper powder. It was introduced in the 1960s. It is only available as canned food. It was inspired by African chop-chop. Due to larger content of the fish paste, it has a more distinctive and spicier taste than the similar Asian otak-otak
Otak-otak
Otak-otak is a cake made of fish meat and spices. It is widely known across Southeast Asia, where it is traditionally served fresh, wrapped inside a banana leaf, as well as in many Asian stores internationally - being sold as frozen food and even canned food.-Distribution:Otak-otak is found in...
.
History
In 1957 People's Republic of PolandPeople's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
created the first long range fishing company of Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, and in 1962, the company was merged with a canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
factory, creating the fishing and canning company PPUDiR Gryf (Przedsiębiorstwo Połowów Dalekomorskich i Usług Rybackich "Gryf"). The company became the leading fishing company in communist Poland, only to go bankrupt, like many state owned companies, with the fall of communism.
In the early 1960s the company started fishing and harvesting operations near the coasts of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Crews of reefer ships were exposed to varieties of African food, including chop-chop – a paste made of minced fish meat (especially pagrus
Pagrus
Pagrus is a genus of fish in the family Sparidae.It contains the following species:*Pagrus africanus, Southern common seabream *Pagrus auratus, Australasian snapper...
meat) and pima. In 1965 the company's laboratories released the first series of artificially designed paste, where African spices were replaced with cheaper ingredients available in Europe. The first cans of paprykarz were produced in either 1965 or 1967. Its invention is attributed to the company's then-chief of production, Wojciech Jakacki. The creation of the Szczecin paprikas was the side effect of "leftover management" in the company's production facilities. The paste contained pieces left after cutting ice blocks with various species of frozen fish. The specific ingredients of paprykarz changed over time, as Gryf fishing ships changed their fishing locations. The chili powder changed from African pima to a Hungarian product. The quality is said to have degraded over time.
Since then, the product has been exported to over 32 countries, including the USA, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
and Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
. Currently it is produced by various firms in Central Europe, mainly Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. In Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, due to its popularity, the Polish product was copied locally and sold with a label "Made in Europe". The paprykarz sczeciński can with a Gryf logo was a well recognized product in Poland and in many countries where it was sold.
Paprykarz represented a high volume of Gryf productions, in some periods - about 50% of cans made by the company were of that label. In modern Poland, although Gryf no longer exists, the name paprykarz szczeciński has been viewed as legally unrestricted, and several new fishing and canning companies produce their versions of paprykarz, but mostly using fish from inland waters rather than the mix of ocean fish that the original paprykarz contained. In the mid-2000s, West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
where Szczecin is located, started efforts to reclaim the use of the name for canning companies located in its territory, and to obtain the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
for the product.
External links
- Szczecin paprikas has a fan page on Facebook.