When asking, What can I substitute for paprika?, black and white pepper powder are the last two ingredients that will come to your mind. After all, the color is very different from paprika. They are also not basically chili peppers compared to red chili, jalapeno, and cayenne pepper.
Paprika can range from mild to hot – the flavor also varies from country to country – but almost all plants grown produce the sweet variety. Sweet paprika is mostly composed of the pericarp, with more than half of the seeds removed, whereas hot paprika contains some seeds, stalks, ovules, and calyces. The red, orange or yellow color of paprika is due to its content of carotenoids.