NuMex Heritage Big Jim
Also known as Heritage Big Jim · NuMex Big Jim Heritage · Big Jim Heritage
NuMex Heritage Big Jim is a Capsicum annuum selection from New Mexico, United States. Capsi’s sourced range is 1,581–9,482 SHU (Lab-verified). Flavor is earthy, smoky, sweet, mineral. Used for chiles rellenos, green chile sauce, roasting, stews, enchiladas. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
NuMex Heritage Big Jim is an open-pollinated New Mexican chile from New Mexico State University. Growers pick the large, thick-walled pods green for roasting, rellenos, and sauce, or leave them to ripen red.
About 1/18 the typical heat of a Capsi Jalapeño (31,902 SHU).
Growing
~80 days to maturity
Fruit size
15–20 cm
Flavor & Use
Roasted green pods taste earthy and a little mineral, with a sweet finish and a steady medium bite. Fruit left to ripen red is hotter and dries well for powder.
Culinary
About
Pods are flattened New Mexican type with round shoulders, smooth thick walls, and a blunt or hooked tip. Trial fruit ran 15 to 20 cm long. Seed packets often claim longer. They start light to medium green and finish red. Green pods roast and peel cleanly for sauce and stuffing. The taste is familiar New Mexico green chile, earthy and a little sweet, with a steady medium heat. Plants usually stand 60 to 90 cm and need staking once the heavy pods set.
Backstory
By the early 2000s Mesilla Valley growers told Paul Bosland the Big Jim they were planting no longer tasted like the 1975 release. NMSU retrieved original seed deposited in 1977 at the National Seed Storage Lab in Fort Collins, grew it out, and spent about a decade selecting with New Mexico Chile Commission members for traditional flavor, even heat, and plants that work on the farm. NMSU listed the cultivar in 2008. The formal HortScience paper followed in 2013.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreNuMex Heritage Big Jim is a selection of Big Jim Chile.
Paul W. Bosland and Danise Coon, New Mexico State University · 2008
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is NuMex Heritage Big Jim?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 1,581–9,482 SHU (Lab-verified). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does NuMex Heritage Big Jim taste like?
- Roasted green pods taste earthy and a little mineral, with a sweet finish and a steady medium bite. Fruit left to ripen red is hotter and dries well for powder.
- How do I grow NuMex Heritage Big Jim?
- NuMex Heritage Big Jim: about 80 days to maturity, arid climate, full sun, hardiness zones 8-11.
- What can I substitute for NuMex Heritage Big Jim?
- Big Jim Chile, Hatch, Sandia Pepper, Anaheim, NuMex Heritage 6-4