Aug 18 - The Tobasco Factory

After our boat ride, we drove to the Tabasco factory on Avery Island. Edmund McIlhenny planted his first seeds on this property 140 years ago. Each year, the very best Capsicum pepper plants in the field are chosen, and the seeds from those pods are dried for the next years planting. All other plants in the field are destroyed. The seeds are stored on the island, and in a bank vault to ensure that the best line of plants are preserved in case of fire or other disaster. In 1967, the demand was so high for the Tabasco product that they began sending some of the seeds to Latin America to be planted on two farms there. When the peppers are ready to harvest, they pick only the peppers that are the exact shade of red as determined by a painted stick to which they compare the color. All of the harvested peppers, even the ones in Latin America, are then sent to the factory and processed right in this facility. The ground mash is put into oak wine barrels and aged for 3 years. The resulting Tabasco is bottled, labeled in 22 languages, and shipped to over 160 countries and territories around the world.

After the tour we went to the Tabasco gift shop. Who knew there were so many Tabasco products and souvenirs! We sampled Jalapeno ice cream, sweet and sour ice cream, Tabasco soda, Bar-b-q sauces, mayonnaise, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, and all the traditional Tabasco flavors (including their newest flavor - chipolte)! Yummy!!!!! Bryan and Erin hit the soda machine big time after their encounter with the Habanero Tabasco. Interesting note, the Capsicum peppers used for the Tabasco, are, in their raw form, three times as hot as a Habanero!