Original article The effect of different paprika types on the ripening process and quality of dry sausages Isabel Revilla* & Ana Marı´a Vivar Quintana Area of Food Technology, E.P.S. of Zamora, Salamanca University, Avd. Requejo 33, 49022 Zamora, Spain (Received 16 February 2004; Accepted in revised form 19 October 2004) Summary The main objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of large amounts of paprika and different amounts of hot paprika on the ripening process of dry sausage. The sausages, called ÔchorizoÕ were evaluated for changes in texture, colour and physico-chemical parameters, including rancidity. The results show that when either paprika contents or concentrations of hot paprika were increased, compared with a control, the ripening process of dry sausages was accelerated, probably by the promotion of lactic acid bacteria growth, which, in turn, lead to a fast drop in pH and water activity. These effects cause a rapid development of texture when compared with a suitable control, with an optimal hardness being reached in less time. These products have greater colour intensity, which remains more stable, together with lower malonaldehyde contents than controls. It was shown that paprika, especially the hot variety, exerts a protective effect against rancidity. Keywords Chorizo, colour, hot paprika, physico-chemical parameters, rancidity, texture. Introduction Spanish powdered paprika, that comes from the milling of dry fruits of different varieties of Capsicum annuum L., is commercially classified according to its pungency in three different cate- gories: hot (picante), sweet (dulce) and intermedi- ate (ocal or agridulce). Paprika is one of the most important spices used in the manufacture of chorizo, a dry fermented sausage widely consumed in Spain, because of its colouring and flavouring effects. Some dry sausages manufactured in north-west of Spain (chorizo zamorano) are characterized by their high paprika content compared with other dry sausages. The paprika used is the ÔagridulceÕ type with an important percentage of hot paprika, because of the preference of consumers towards very pungent products. The differences in pun- gency are related to the various biochemical processes involved in the formation of paprika (Mı´nguez-Mosquera et al., 1996). Composition analysis shows that the highest content of capsai- cin is in hot paprika. It is known that paprika decreases the rancidity of dry sausages (Aguirreza´ bal et al., 2000) because of its contents of flavonoids, capsaicinoids, tocopherols and ca- rotenoids (Daood et al., 1996). As capsaicin has an important anti-oxidant effect (Lee et al., 1995; Kogure et al., 2002), the greater the content of pepper fruits the greater the anti-oxidant effect (Perucka & Materska, 2001). The composition and properties of paprika have been studied, but the effects of varying the total content of paprika and the effects of the use of either sweet or hot paprika on dry sausage chorizo are not so well known. However, the different content and composition of paprika may affect the oxidation process and the curing process, including colour and texture character- istics. These effects on organoleptic properties, objectively determined, could be an efficient way to measure any differences from other similar products in order to establish a ÔQuality DenominationÕ. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of paprika content and different percentages *Correspondent: Fax: +34980545002; e-mail: irevilla@usal.es International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2005, 40, 411–417 411 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.00944.x Ó 2005 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund