It is a rare find for a plant to receive an official name in honor of someone, but the Jimmy Nardello pepper is just that; an homage to a family that has cultivated and had a love for pepper for many generations. Officially named the Jimmy Nardello Italian Pepper, this is a sweet pepper that can be eaten raw or dried and fried to transform that sweet taste in to one that has a bit of a slight bite to it which is along the lines of a black peppercorns.

Jimmy Nardello, the man, was the fourth of eleven children of Italian immigrants Giuseppe and Angella Nardello. The couple immigrated to the United States from Southern Italy and brought their love of peppers with them and some seeds which they used in their home garden in their new hometown of Naugatuck, Connecticut.  

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I've grown them 4 years in a row now. One of my favorite peppers.

I mix then in with my mother (tomato)sauce. Canned 28 quarts last year.

They are great for all sorts stuff. I have dehydrated them and ground them up to mix in with my own spice mixture.

Usually the last harvest at the end if summer I'll take those. Deseed them and freeze them on a tray then transfer to a ziploc. Keeps really well and I have fresh peppers all winter. I used that method this year for the first time and I didn't have to buy any peppers all winter.

They are great sauted up with onion and sausage too.