Voghera Pepper

The Voghera Pepper is usually squarish, with four ribs (or sometimes three), one of which may be slightly longer than the others and have a hooked shape. When fully mature, this pepper is yellow or almost orange, but it is also delicious several days before full ripeness, when it is pale green. It has a thin skin and the flesh is firm, meaty, and not too watery. The flavor is sweet and delicate, though there are sometimes spicy notes.
This variety is grown near the Po River in the provinces of Pavia and Alessandria, especially in the municipality of Voghera, which was well known for pepper cultivation between the 1920s and 1950s. At that time, the fertile, clay-rich, canal-irrigated lands across the Staffora River east of Voghera were covered in gardens, and most peppers were sold in the city’s fruit and vegetable market. Due to its sweetness, digestibility, and suitability for pickling, the Voghera Pepper soon became popular beyond Italy and a market for it developed in Europe and the United States.
In the early 1950s, production declined due to a disease known as Fusarium wilt and the introduction of more productive varieties that were better suited to large-scale distribution, putting the very existence of the Voghera Pepper at risk. However, a few enthusiasts continued to grow it in their personal gardens, particularly in the villages surrounding Voghera, ensuring the conservation of the seeds and the survival of the variety. In 2006, a concerted effort began to revive the Voghera Pepper from recovered seeds, allowing for small-scale production to resume in the sandy, mineral-rich soils of the flatlands along the Po.
The Presidium producers select and save seeds, which they plant in February. Between April and late June, they transplant the seedlings into greenhouses or open fields. Mulching sheets and/or mechanical processes are used to control weeds, and management of pathogens and soil fertility is based on agroecologically sound practices and products including crop rotation, drip irrigation, organic amendments and fertilizers, insect nets, and copper-based pesticides.
The Voghera Pepper matures rapidly, allowing for up to four rounds of harvesting between July and November. In the kitchen, this is a particularly versatile variety: it can be eaten raw, cooked in risotto or peperonata, conserved in oil or vinegar for use as a condiment with main dishes such as bollito, and even used in desserts. Some families continue the practice of conserving the peppers in grape pomace inside demijohns, following an old Vogherese recipe.