Developed at the New Mexico Chile Pepper Institute, the NuMex Joe E. Parker was named in a honor of Mr. Joe E. Parker, a 1950 graduate of NMSU's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Mr. Parker assisted in evaluating this specific selection. The NuMex Joe E. Parker pepper was first released in 1990 and is an extremely popular as both a red and green chile. The plants have single, strong main stems and are uniformly branched, providing foliage cover for sunscald protection and support high yielding production.
The NuMex Joe E. Parker is a great pepper for canning whole, and is excellent for chiles rellenos, or for grilling or roasting, due to its thicker walls. The long thick peppers mature from green to red, and can be used green or red, but their heat level is spicier when they’re red. NuMex Joe E. Parker peppers are typically not as spicy as Jalapenos, but the heat level can vary as they typically average about 800 Scoville Heat Units. The peppers typically grow to be between 6 and 8 inches long and are related to the Anaheim pepper and the world famous Hatch (New Mexico) Green Chile pepper.
