Peppers from Mexico gives TABASCO(tm) sauce
its robust punch. - Few people know that the famous Tabasco brand sauce got its start during the 19th century on an island.

One hundred and forty miles west of New Orleans lies Avery Island, one of five salt dome coastal islands that climb above the flat Louisiana gulf coast. In the mid-1800s, island owner Edmund McIlhenny received an unusual gift - chile pepper seeds - from a friend who had recently traveled to the state of Tabasco in Mexico.  Nourished by abundant rainfall, Tabasco was the ultimate fertile spot in which to grow chile. (Tabasco is an Indian word meaning "damp earth.") Curious as to the fruit's appearance, McIlhenny planted the seed on Avery Island, then called Ilse Petite Anse.  Soon, erect, thin-skinned bright orange-red pods, about 11/2 inches long and 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter, crowded the shrubby little plant.
 
Discovering the fruit's biting-hot kick, McIlhenny began experimenting with recipes.  He mashed, grated, chopped, and sliced the colorful pod. He then added salt, and vinegar. Soon, McIlhenny came up with what he considered the decisive blend - a hot concentrated sauce that would perk up otherwise bland dishes.  Friends and relatives served as taste testers.  The verdict was unanimous: the sauce was unique, exotic, and flavorful. Hopes of patenting the formula faded quickly, however, when the Yankees stormed the island during the Civil War.  The McIlhenny's were forced to abandon their property until the war's end.  Returning to the island, they found all but the pepper plants had been destroyed.

In 1868 after rebuilding, McIlhenny resumed production of the hot potion, shipping 350 samples to wholesalers in discarded, sanitized cologne bottles outfitted with "sprinkler" heads and homemade labels.  McIlhenny intended to name the recipe Petite Anse Sauce in honor of the Island itself but family members protested, "Let's not commercialize the island's name." McIlhenny reconsidered and the now-celebrated TABASCO(tm) sauce brand was trademarked two years later. 
Still used as the primary basis for the sauce, the tabasco pepper is sometimes supplanted by similarly hot chiles, like cayenne pepper. The factory, operated by Mcllhenny's ancestors, is located on the island.

As tabasco peppers age, their color changes.  Young peppers are green, turning yellow, then orange, and at last, brilliant red, the latter of which is used in the sauce. To determine "doneness," pickers use a wooden dowel, "le petit baton rouge," tinted the preferred Tabasco red color. The pepper is picked only when the chile color matches that of the dowel.  The peppers are mashed and tossed with Avery Island salt and placed into oak wooden barrels for fermenting and aging, a process that takes up to three years.  High grain vinegar is added to the fully aged mash and allowed to ferment again for four weeks at which time the pepper skins and seeds are strained out.  The sauce is then bottled and shipped to over 105 countries throughout the world.

For a period of time, TABASCO(tm) sauce was a "gentleman's condiment" used exclusively for splashing raw oysters and seasoning gumbo.  Today, hot pepper sauces is a $180 million a year business. Chileheads worldwide liberally sprinkle the condiment on everything from steaks to melon balls.

TABASCO (tm)HOT SAUCE TIDBITS

• The average TABASCO(tm) sauce lover uses one two-ounce bottle per year.
• TABASCO(tm) sauce can be substituted in any recipes that calls for black pepper.
• Each 2-ounce bottle of TABASCO(tm) sauce contains at least 720 drops.
• Over 450,000 2-ounce bottles of TABASCO(tm) sauce may be produced in a single day at maximum capacity.
• An average serving of TABASCO(tm) sauce, 1/16 teaspoon, has only 2.5 milligrams of sodium, 0 fat grams, and 0 calories.
• No food colorings, artificial stabilizers or chemical preservatives are added to
  TABASCO(tm) sauce.
   

STORING HOT SAUCES

 Most hot-pepper sauces can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 year.
 Hot sauces may change in color over the course of a few months, but they still deliver the same spicy-hot blast.

HOTSHOT SAUCE (makes two cups)

1 LB hot chiles, chopped
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
garlic powder, to taste (optional)
onion power, to taste (optional)
white pepper, to taste (optional)

Combine chiles and vinegar in a large saucepan.  Stir in salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and white pepper and simmer 5 to 6 minutes.  Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Place in sterilized dark bottles and cap.  Add more vinegar if the sauce needs thinning.  Allow steeping for three weeks before using.