A Spicy Trip to The Tabasco Pepper Plant

Today we drove to Avery Island to visit the Tabasco factory.  

The tour consisted of a short talk and a film, with 4 complementary mini-Tabascos each, and a final walk through a glass viewing area of the factory.

We learned a few interesting things today about Steve's favorite condiment.  The Tabasco company was begun by Edmund McIlhenny, whose family name is on the bottle, in the mid- to late-1860s.  He had married an Avery lady, whose family owned Avery Island in Louisiana; a salt mine larger than Mount Everest is tall.

Edmund was given Capsicum frutescens peppers from Mexico or South America and planted them on Avery island.  These peppers, along with the salt from Avery Island, gave birth to Tabasco  Pepper Sauce.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Some of the barrels the Tabasco plant uses come from the Jack Daniel's company.  Jack Daniel's can only use their barrels once while creating their whiskey.  So, Tabasco takes them over using them anywhere between 3 and 100 years.  When the barrels finally fall apart, they are shredded into wood chips and sold for barbecuing.   

• The peppers turn three lovely colors; green yellow, orange, until they are ready to be picked when they turn a vibrant red.  Pickers take only those that are ripe.  To help them, pickers carry a stick that is the color of the ripe pepper;  the red stick, or        le bâton rouge.  (The city of Baton Rouge may have been named for a red stick rumored to have been placed there; or for Native American bloodshed.)                                                                     

• Each barrel of pepper mash, mixed with a bit of Avery Island salt, is fermented for three years.  Large amounts of salt is placed on top of the barrel, under which are holes for gases and juices to exit.  The salt inhibits unwanted items getting into the holes.  The salt then hardens to form a salt puck.

• Once the mash has fermented it is mixed and stirred with vinegar, continuously, for 28 days.   After straining, any remaining mash might be used for Dentine gum or spiced chocolate.

• The seeds for all and any pepper plants grown originate from Avery Island, specially chosen.

• There's also oil in them thar hills.  

• You pay $1.00 to enter the Avery Island, where private homes are and many of the Avery/McIlhenny family live.

• There is also a large garden and bird sanctuary on the island.  Edmund started a bird colony to help save the egrets being slaughtered for ladies' hat plumage.

As soon as we exited the truck, we could smell the Tabasco.

Today's batch was heading to Germany.

Schlemiel! Schlimazel!

There is, of course, a gift shop where you can taste all the different types of sauces and condiments Tabasco makes.  Lots of different items to buy, too.  We bought an item or two, and got a free bottle of Buffalo Tabasco Sauce and !

A nice trip, short, but nice.  We left with a greater appreciation of Tabasco Sauce, the sustainability of the company, and the history involved.

Click Here for Visitor Information

Liquor, Liquor Everywhere

Growing up in Rhode Island, one grows accustomed to driving to the local liquor store for all our libation needs.  You are not allowed to drink them until you get home, of course.  You cannot even buy a single beer; only a six-pack or larger.  And, when you get to the store, you have to get out of your car to go inside to make the purchase.


Well, Rhode Island being adjacent to Connecticut, we knew that you could also purchase wine and beer at grocery stores in that state.  But, once we hit Ohio, we got our first taste of Drive-Thru Liquor stores.  Yes, drive-thru.  You don't even need to get out of your car.  Now, of course, that doesn't mean that the person driving will start to drink in the car.  Just as it doesn't mean the person walking in to buy liquor will drink when he gets back to his car.  However, it was still a bit of a shock to see.

While we stayed in Florida, I was amazed, if not pleased, to see that even CVS and Walgreens sold beer and wine in their stores.  Not a huge selection or high quality choices, but, nice in a pinch.

Then, we hit Louisiana.  Just across from our campground is Crazy Dave's Daiquiri Bar and Grill...with a drive-up daiquiri window.  Here's the window below, and the row of daiquiri selections.  Of course, Louisiana has an open-container law, meaning, you aren't allowed to have an open container in your vehicle.  And, of course, the bartender just hands the driver the closed cup with the straw, and of course, you, the driver would never puncture said cover with the straw in order to sip whilst driving.  

Or would you?  The temptation is certainly there.  It is hard to believe that, in this day and age, the opportunity to drink and drive is so readily available and legal.  I don't quite get the reasoning behind it.  I had one of the daiquiris and they taste more like a Dunkin' Donuts Fruit Coolatta than a daiquiri.  Too sweet.  

But, if you decide to venture into Crazy Dave's, and you've had a bit too much to drink, and want to camouflage that fact, just drop into the restroom for some complimentary 

mouthwash.

Max, I've a Feeling We're Not in Rhode Island Anymore

This Christmas Day started sunny and mid-70's, quite nice.  We had a great time watching the kids open their gifts.  We were expecting a dicey sort of day with the strong storm/wind/hail/tornado watches of the past couple of days, so we were pleasantly surprised the day was starting so nicely.  Didn't last long.

By 11:30 am we were starting to prep for some pretty scary stuff.  Between the TV, Weather Bug, the Weather Channel app, the WAFB Titan 9 app, and Google Maps, we are tracking the storm as it travels through the counties and towns of Louisiana.  None of  which we are familiar with.

The local news has been on for about 30 minutes, and plans to be on indefinitely as tornado warnings continue to be set.  I am watching the clouds moving from the west, looking for greenish color, or circling...or a witch riding by on her broom.

You can see Livingston and how we are right now (2:30pm) sandwiched between the two major cells.

Constantly referring to Google Maps to see our vicinity to the counties with tornado warnings.

WeatherBug's interactive radar.

LA county map.  Warnings are given by county...we don't know them.

Great app when you are in LA.  

Our "take shelter in the campground bathroom" bag is packed and ready to go.  I was able to bake a pumpkin pie, so at least it smells nice.  I have no appetite to eat it though.

So far, so good, but, I think we will be in a direct path before this is all over.

From http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/watchvswarn.html

A tornado watch, like a severe thunderstorm watch, means that conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms to form, but it also means that a few storms may be capable of producing a tornado. 

A tornado warning is the ultimate in severe warnings, it means that a tornado is either occurring or imminent based on radar. You should take cover immediately.