I always wanted to visit Avery Island, the home of Tabasco, but the only time we ever visited Louisiana we were in New Orleans. I never even tried to locate it on a map since it was never a possibility. Then Joani asked how far would I drive to visit - turned out we were only an hour away - that was close enough. She signed us up for the plant tour and the Jungle Gardens as well.
We could not have asked for a better day to visit. It was warm with a little breeze. The tour started at the museum and ended at the store but I headed into the store first. They had samples! I tried them all. A very enthusiastic young sales girl tried to sell me on a six-pack of my choosing that would net me a 25 percent discount. Joani gave me a special dispensation to exceed our hot sauce limit in the coach this one time and I took it. More about that later.
Who knew there was so much to learn about pepper sauce? We saw some of the earliest advertisements through to today's campaigns that made the sauce world famous. There are only three ingredients in Tabasco sauce - peppers, salt and vinegar. Every drop of the fiery condiment was made from peppers grown on Avery Island, Louisiana. The name Tabasco was to honor the town of Tabasco, Mexico where these peppers originated.
I had no idea there were so many counterfeit Tabascos. This was just a sampling.
This made me think of David!
Avery Island was not what most would consider an island. It was actually the top of a huge salt dome that raised the area as much as 160 feet above the surrounding area. The salt dome may extend more than 6 miles below the surface. Salt was mined on the island for the sauce and is now also commercially mined and shipped out by Cargill. The dome stands out from the surrounding marshland creating a circular 2,200-acre estate where the McIlhenny family has been growing peppers for more than 150 years.
An aerial picture of Avery Island.
In 1868, Edmund McIlhenny planted his first crop of peppers on Avery Island, Louisiana; 140 years and five generations later, his own descendants are mashing those peppers’ descendants.
In 1868, Edmund McIlhenny planted his first crop of peppers on Avery Island, Louisiana; 140 years and five generations later, his own descendants are mashing those peppers’ descendants.
The tour took us by the nursery where pepper plants were grown from seeds. The seedlings were then planted in fields on the island. Mature peppers were picked by hand when they reach the perfect shade of red-orange and green peppers had to wait.
The instant we walked into the greenhouse my camera fogged.
Peppers, mixed with some salt are mashed into a puree and aged in barrels. The tops of the barrels are sealed with oak and a layer of salt. The peppers are aged for as long as three years before being processed further. I learned later that each barrel, mixed with some vinegar, will yield 50,000 ounces of Tabasco sauce! At $3.00 per 5 ounce bottle each one of those barrels represented a nice chunk of change!
Each barrel yields $30,000 worth of sauce and the warehouse holds about 68,000 to 73,000 barrels.
They process 20,000 to 22,000 barrels in a given year.
Next up was the processing factory. Here the pepper mash was mixed with vinegar and more salt and stirred. When the flavor was "just right" the mixture was filtered to remove the seeds and husks.
I suspect most people would have a difficult time breathing on the other side of the viewing area window. You could push a button that allowed you to get a "whiff" and it was pretty strong.
Finally, the pepper sauce was ready for bottling. We watched as one machine filled empty bottles and another installed the shaker top. Another screwed on the cap before labels were applied to the bottle neck and body. The last machine applied a tamper-proof seal to the cap. They proudly displayed how many bottles were produced for the day.
Time for the bottles to be boxed and packaged for shipment around the world. Tabasco sauce is shipped to 180 countries with labels in 22 different languages so don't be surprised to see it almost anywhere you might travel.
The last stop in the building was a room filled with historical pictures and memorabilia and a place to sit in quiet contemplation of the miracle of the Tabasco pepper sauce.
Enough about hot sauce and time to enjoy some of the island's natural beauty. The Jungle Gardens was a self-guided tour around a 3-mile loop. We chose to drive rather than walk because we needed the time for picture taking and I'm not sure how well we would have managed a 3-mile hike. The Live Oaks draped in Spanish Moss were simply spectacular!
Live Oaks are the dominant trees in the gardens.
A tree knot that caught my fancy.
Signs warned there were alligators in the area and they were not wrong. They were on the small side, at most 4 feet long, but we gave them a wide berth. Apparently, the turtles had no fear of the gators.
Its body language would give a clue as to when it was about to pounce.
I never saw him miss...
...he caught a fish with every try.
Camellias were in bloom, or ready to bloom, throughout the island.
The Buddha was a gift to E.A. McIlhenny in 1936.
I'm not sure if the round green 1/4 inch leaf and the teeny, tiny green pellet is part of the same plant, but one of them is duckweed.
I found contrasting perspectives on duckweed - a pest to be destroyed or a superfood that may save the planet.
Phyllostachys viridis, Golden Bamboo
Golden Bamboo attains a maximum height of around 45 feet, with a diameter of 3 to 4 inches.
Such a pretty lichen.
Back at home, I had to get a shot of my new acquisitions. Many of the varieties I had never seen before. The Rocoto pepper sauce had just been introduced the day before we visited. It was also my priciest purchase. Scorpion sauce was their hottest option so, of course, I had to have some of it. I'm sure I will enjoy all of them even more so because they will remind me of our visit. Joani was responsible for the pickles and chili starter. I'm sure I will help her with the chili but the pickles are all hers.
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