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The “papacella napoletana” is a particular type of short, flashy pepper with a sweet taste and used in the Neapolitan cuisine.
They are sown at the end of Winter, while they are collected from Summer till Autumn; after this they are pickled in vinegar.
The market stands of Naples are full of these peppers from July till the beginning of winter, but only true Neapolitans are able to distinguish immediately the real “papaccelle ricce”.
They can be red, yellow or green, their shape is round and they are small, short and really flashy. Botanically speaking, they belong to the chili peppers’ variety ‘topepo’, even though it must not be confused with the ‘topepo rosso’, whose walls are smooth, while the ones of papacella have a unique curled shape.
Their scent is intense and the taste is sweet, but not spicy, even though spicy varieties are also cultivated.
The name “pappacella” comes from vernacular Latin: pipiricella(m) > paparicella(m) >paparcella(m) > papaccella(m). These particular vegetables is called with different names in other regions, especially in Central Italy, such as “chiacchiera”, “chiochiera”, a “pupacchiella”.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)