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who is jimmy nardello

by Corrine Weissnat Published 4 years ago Updated 3 years ago

Jimmy's favorite of all the peppers he grew was a sweet Italian frying pepper. Before he passed away in 1983, Jimmy donated seeds of his favorite pepper to the Seed Savers Exchange. Since then, it has been known as the Jimmy Nardello pepper.

Full Answer

What did Jimmy Nardello do for his family?

Fortunately, the Nardello’s fourth child, Jimmy, had inherited his mother’s love of gardening, so he built terrace gardens and grew many of his mother’s favorite heirloom pepper plants. From just the few seeds his mother had brought over from Italy, Jimmy kept the family well fed with wholesome, hearty vegetables for decades.

Where did Jimmy Nardello's shoes come from?

Jimmy Nardello’s mother, Angella Nardello, brought them from her hometown of Ruoto in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. They ended up in the town of Naugatuck, near New Haven, in Connecticut. The town is known for being the original home of the Goodyear Rubber Company, Keds Sneakers, and Naugahyde.

What kind of peppers did Jimmy Nardello grow?

Jimmy’s favorite of all the peppers he grew was a sweet Italian frying pepper. Before he passed away in 1983, Jimmy donated seeds of his favorite pepper to the Seed Savers Exchange. Since then, it has been known as the Jimmy Nardello pepper.

Are Jimmy Nardello peppers bad for You?

Word of caution: They remain hot even after getting dry and can cause skin irritation if handled without care. Jimmy Nardello peppers are a rich source of antioxidants such as vitamin C. Not only do they boost your immune function, but they also play a vital role in building collagen in your body.

What are Jimmy Nardello peppers good for?

Jimmy Nardello chile peppers are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as grilling, frying, roasting, and sautéing.

How do you eat Jimmy Nardello peppers?

Jimmy Nardellos (the skinny ones) and red, roasters. An Italian dish of simply roasted peppers dressed with minced garlic, parsley and good olive oil is a summer favorite. Peppers are wonderful on pizza or pickled and on a sandwich or raw and diced in a salad or roasted and pureed into Romesco sauce.

How big do Jimmy Nardello peppers get?

Variety Information: 6"–12" peppers start out green and ripen to deep, glossy red with a very sweet, rich flavor.

Can you eat Jimmy Nardello peppers green?

Most varieties can be eaten when green or under-ripe, however, the flavor improves as plants mature.

How do you fix Jimmy Nardello peppers?

Slice the peppers in half lengthwise, keeping the seeds. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add peppers to the frying pan. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until slightly wilted and blistered.

What's Jimmy peppers?

Jimmy Nardello Peppers are the sweet, thin-skinned Italian frying peppers that begin popping up at farmers markets towards the end of summer. They have shiny, firetruck-red skin and a super-sweet flavor and creamy texture, and they are coveted by chefs and home cooks alike.

Are Jimmy Nardello peppers open pollinated?

To ensure true-to-type seed, grow open- pollinated varieties and separate by 30 feet. Use only the first fruits for seed; allow only 3–4 fruits per plant to grow and remove all others. Fewer fruits = larger seeds = greater seed viability. Later fruits often have germination rates of only 60%.

Do Jimmy Nardello peppers turn red?

A lot of people have been asking if they can pick the Jimmy Nardello pepper while it is green or wait for it to turn red. Answer: WAIT TILL IT'S RED. This is one of my favorite peppers to grow and it isn't hot at all but is a very sweet, red pepper.

How do you grow Jimmy Nardello peppers from seed?

Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼” deep. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Wait to transplant outdoors until soil is warm.

What are Jimmy Nardello peppers?

The string was run through the stem of the pepper, with a needle. Dried peppers were then sliced or chopped and sautéed or fried for use in traditional Italian recipes. Today, Jimmy Nardello peppers are dried, frozen, pickled, canned or used fresh in any recipe that calls for a sweet, crisp pepper.

Where did the Nardello family come from?

In 1887, the Nardello family immigrated to Connecticut seeking a better life than they had in their remote, mountainous village in southern Italy. Along with them, they brought the seeds of some of their favorite vegetables including Capiscum annum, the variety of sweet pepper that is now known as the Jimmy Nardello Italian pepper.

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The humans at Seven Trees have lived in the Pacific Northwest for many years, with sojourns in Montana & eastern WA. After experiencing city and rural life, we chose a balance of both in lovely Whatcom County, WA.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Last summer, in the midst of our tomato-blight/potato-wireworm tragedy, we had a success story - our peppers. Even though the summer never got warm & sunny enough to fully ripen them all, the anchos and pimentos we planted grew and produced like gangbusters.

Where did Jimmy Nardello grow his peppers?

For centuries, people have grown peppers and used them as an essential food ingredient. Jimmy Nardello peppers have quite a history of their own. In 1887, an Italian family brought the seeds of their favorite vegetables while migrating to the US. The Nardellos lived in a remote mountainous part of southern Italy.

Why did Jimmy Nardello start gardening?

Back in their homeland, they grew vegetables for a living. So, they started gardening to provide food for themselves. Jimmy Nardello, fourth of the eleven children of the Nardello family, inherited his parents’ love for gardening. He kept his family well-fed with the fresh and wholesome vegetables he grew at home.

Can you eat Jimmy Nardello peppers?

Unlike other pepper plants, the Jimmy Nardello peppers are reliable for colder climates. They are more resistant to common pepper plant diseases and pest attacks. Due to their fruity flavor, you can eat them directly from the plants.

When did Jimmy Nardello die?

He lived a long good life, passing away in 1987. Before he died he donated some of his mom’s special pepper seeds to Seed Savers. Twenty years later, in 2005, Jimmy Nardello peppers were honored with a spot on the Slow Food Ark.

When did Jimmy Nardello peppers come to the United States?

Look at how critical chiles are to the cooking of Korea! If you want a taste test, take a trip to Miss Kim! The reason the story of Jimmy Nardello peppers starts in 1887 is because that’s when the seeds for this pepper came to the United States.

What is the name of the pepper in the town of Nardello?

The town is known for being the original home of the Goodyear Rubber Company, Keds Sneakers, and Naugahyde. But for me, by far, its biggest claim to fame is the Jimmy Nardello pepper. After arriving in the U.S., the Nardellos, like nearly every poor Italian family of that era, started a garden.

Who planted the pepper seeds on the ship?

Signora Nardello planted the special pepper seeds she’d smuggled in on the ship and she grew them and a wide range of other vegetables for her whole life. Mr. and Mrs. Nardello had 11 kids—Jimmy was fourth in line. Jimmy loved gardening. He lived a long good life, passing away in 1987.

What is Jimmy Nardello?

The Jimmy Nardello is a hearty pepper that grows rather quickly and produces bright red and long, skinny peppers that are ideal for frying as they can be fried whole or sliced lengthwise to expose the seeds.

Where did Jimmy Nardello live?

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.

What is the name of the pepper that is named after someone?

Scoville Rating. 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.

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