In 1860, Edmund McIlhenny received a special variety of red capsicum  pepper seeds from a friend who’d been to Central America.  He planted them and used the peppers to develop a fiery sauce that he shared with friends and family.  They encouraged him to market it commercially, so in 1869, he sent 658 bottles to grocers in New York City.  He named the pepper sauce Tabasco, a word of Central American Indian origin that means “land where the soil is hot and humid.”

Today, McIlhenny Co., which is located in Avery Island, La. (150 miles west of New Orleans), still makes Tabasco sauce in much the same way as its founder did.  Carefully selected red peppers are crushed immediately after harvest, mixed with select Avery Island salt, aged in white-oak barrels for up to three years, drained, blended with strong, all-natural vinegar and stirred intermittently for weeks.  Then it is strained, bottled, capped and labeled.

Tabasco sauce has many fans.  Phyllis Diller puts a teaspoon of it in her Philli Dilli Chili.  Henry Winkler adds 12 dashes to his beer marinade for steak.  Paul Newman shakes a few dashes into his favorite Creole gumbo, and John Grisham puts it in his grits.

Visitors can view the manufacturing process when they take the free, wheelchair-accessible factory tours of McIlhenny Co. offered daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on major holidays.  For information, call (800) 634-9599 or visit www.tabasco.com.

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