European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                R x 1 to greater or lesser degrees paprika has culinary devotees worldwide. Its almost impossible to imagine hungarian cuisine without this spicy  s favorite spice there seven a paprika museum by Sharon Hudgins the whole time i was growing up in Texas i thought that paprika accent on the second syllable was merely a Quot decorative spice a something that sat in the Cabinet for years Only to be brought out once or twice each summer and sprinkled Over devised eggs. I did no to even know that paprika had a flavor a but surely any spice that languishes on a Kitchen shelf loses whatever taste it started out with. In graduate school i discovered the real stuff. My Roommate who had a hungarian Boyfriend introduced me to genuine hungarian paprika accent on the first syllable and things Haven to been the same since. Over the years i became a collector and user of paprika often purchasing them in their place of origin. At last count i had fifteen different types from four countries. Maybe that a Why i decided to spend my vacation last october in the paprika producing Region around Kalocsa Hungary. I chose the Small town of Kalocsa for two reasons it vies with Szeged a much larger Industrial City As the paprika capital of Hungary a and it boasts what is referred to there As the worlds Only paprika  by car my husband and i crossed the Muddy Duna Danube River on a ferry that had seen better Days. The tiny Landing we departed from was t even indicated on our map the nearest Village on that Side of the River was several Miles away. From out of nowhere a Little Black and White dog ran up and began yapping at the four cars waiting on the Shore As if to say goodbye. As the ferry creaked and clanked to a halt on the other Side of the River an almost identical Black and White dog a surely the first ones brother a came Down the Road to Yip his greetings. A Man in Blue work clothes High leather boots and a tall fur Cap tied the ferry to the Shore. Stretching before us were the Flat agricultural lands of the great Plain of Hungary. As we drove the few Miles to Kalocsa we began to notice something about our surroundings. At first we  pinpoint the change then suddenly it became Clear we could actually smell the paprika in the air around the Bend was a modern paprika processing Plant the source of this mouthwatering air pollution. We had arrived during the annual Pepper Harvest and the factory was working at capacity to produce the several varieties of paprika for which Kalocsa is famous. Waiting outside to be hauled into the building by conveyor belts were thousands upon thousands of peppers in big plastic mesh bags. These were the crops from state owned farms a the 8,650 acres of so called Quot red carpet Quot Fields that surround Kalocsa and several neighbouring villages and that Are devoted to the cultivation of peppers for commercial spice production. Along the Road into Kalocsa a and in the town itself a Many of the houses were festooned with Long strands of red peppers drying in the autumn Sun. These were Home grown peppers cultivated on Small private plots of land and Strung together by hand in the traditional Way. Hanging under the eaves from clotheslines on porches and from balconies these Bright red peppers adorned the simple houses like ribbons on a peasant girl s costume. But this picturesque method of drying a family s personal Supply of peppers is labor intensive and Tim consuming. Gradually the old ways Are being abandoned in favor of the quicker easier technique of loosely continued on Page 14 Friday october 12, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13