Melrose

Pleasant and mild when raw or green; develops a deep, silky sweetness and slight earthiness when fried, roasted, or fully ripened. Thin skin allows flavors to concentrate without bitterness.

Melrose peppers are a sweet Capsicum annuum variety with deep roots in southern Italy. Seeds were carried from Nocera Inferiore in Campania by Italian immigrants Joseph and Lucia Napolitano who settled in Melrose Park, Illinois in 1903. The peppers adapted well and spread through local gardens, earning their name from the community. The fruits are long and tapered (4-6 inches / 10-15 cm), thin-skinned and wrinkled, slightly curved, ripening from pale green to deep red. They have a mild, tender sweetness that becomes richer and sweeter when fully ripe—often described as sweeter than bell peppers. Ideal for traditional preparations like frying in olive oil with garlic, stuffing with sausage, roasting, or incorporating into pasta and antipasto platters. Plants grow 3-4 feet tall, are highly productive, and mature in about 70 days.

In 1903, Joseph and Lucia Napolitano brought seeds of this sweet pepper from their hometown of Nocera Inferiore near Naples, Italy, to Melrose Park, Illinois. The plants thrived in the local soil, and the variety was shared among Italian-American families, becoming a Chicago regional favorite named after the suburb. It is similar to southern Italian frying peppers known as friggitelli.