Pepper, Big Jim Hatch

The Big Jim pepper is a New Mexico chile pepper cultivar of the species Capsicum annuum with a Scoville rating of 8,000. This cultivar is extensively grown in New Mexico where it was developed and is popular in New Mexican cuisine. Big Jim peppers are both sweet and mild and are normally picked while still green. The Big Jim pepper holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest chile pepper in the world, with individual fruits routinely exceeding 14 inches in length. The peppers are mild when still green, but become more spicy as they ripen to red. They are also known for their meaty walls, making them perfect for chiles rellenos, enchiladas, and sauces. The Big Jim pepper was developed at New Mexico State University by Dr. Roy Nakayama in 1975 in cooperation with Jim Lytle, the person for whom this chile pepper is named