Hot Fun in the Summertime

article and illustration by Lou Davenport

As I write this, the temperature is 91 with a heat index of 103 degrees.  There’s a possibility of evening thunderstorms, which seems to be the same forecast every day in July.  When it does rain, the humidity is so high, you can hardly breathe.  

But, there’s something interesting about living in this climate.  The State of Louisiana seems to breed creativity in music, art and especially food! We have food like no other state in the country.

So, I decided to find out more about some of our most famous foods, since this is BayouLife’s “food issue.”

There’s so many foods that Louisiana is famous for, I had to narrow it down.  So, I decided to find out about hot sauces and spices.  And what I found was there’s several hot sauces, as well as seasonings, that all came from people that used some creativity and ended up building very successful businesses. 

We’ve all heard of Tabasco sauce, it’s known around the world. The company, located on Avery Island, was started by Edmund McIlhenny in 1868.  According to their website, “Avery Island is a natural paradise in southern Louisiana” and it certainly had the right soil and humidity to grow the famous peppers that are used to make Tabasco sauce.

McIlhenny developed the recipe after he was given some capsicum frutescens seeds that had come from Mexico or Central America. Since he was an avid gardener and food lover, he planted them, nurtured the plants and was delighted with the spicy taste of the peppers. He decided he’d made a pepper sauce with them!

The same recipe is still used to make Tabasco and it has been passed down generation to generation. Also, the pepper seeds are still cultivated the same and a small red stick, “le petite baton rouge,” is used to measure just the right “redness” of the peppers.  They still use the sticks today.

His first commercial crop yielded 658 bottles that he offered to local grocers around the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, for a dollar a bottle, wholesale. He labeled them “Tabasco” and the first small cologne type bottles were fitted with a “shaker filament” that kept the user from pouring out too much of the sauce, since it doesn’t take but a few sprinkles to give the flavor to most any dish. Those first bottles were also sealed with green wax! Later, the wax was changed to the green label that we all know today.

Mcllhenny patented his recipe in 1868 and in 1870, Tabasco sauce began it’s journey to “set the world on fire.” The sauce has been used in soldier’s rations and on restaurant tables all over the world. It’s even been labeled in 36 languages and dialects, truly making it the most famous hot sauce in the world.

How’s that for an idea that started with a special, small pepper seed?

I took the tour of the Tabasco production facility years ago and it is quite interesting.  They grind the peppers into a mash that they store and age in white oak barrels for about three years. Then the mash is mixed with distilled vinegar and bottled and labeled.  There’s a restaurant and gift shop as well.  But, the prettiest part is what the Mcllhenny’s have made into a garden for native animals. I actually saw an alligator! It’s well worth the trip!

Another noteworthy hot sauce from Louisiana is “Crystal Hot Sauce.” It tastes different from Tabasco since it uses ground cayenne peppers.

In 1923, Alvin Baumar came to New Orleans and met his future wife.  Her father wanted to help the young man start a business, so he loaned him the money to buy a sno-ball syrup production company called, “Mill’s Fruit Products” that was located on Tchoupitoulas Street. While Baumar was moving into the building, he found a recipe for “Crystal Pure Hot Sauce” in a drawer. That stroke of luck turned out to be a recipe for success!  

Renamed Baumer Foods, Inc., the company quickly grew and had to move to a larger production plant on Tulane Avenue in mid-city.

During World War II, Baumer also manufactured jellies and preserves that were enjoyed by US troops as part of their combat rations. Pretty sweet!

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the 75-year old production facility, resulting in a move to a new, state-of-the-art home in Reserve, Louisiana. A replica of the beloved sign was placed at the site of the old facility to honor the indestructible spirit of New Orleans.

Baumer and Co. is a third generation family owned and operated business. Today, Alvin Jr. works alongside his son, Alvin “Pepper” Baumer III. “Pepper” got his nickname from his maternal grandmother, Dottie Brennan, who was once one of the proprietors of “The Commander’s Palace” restaurant.

South Louisiana doesn’t have the entire market on hot sauces. Right here in North Louisiana we have a growing company that makes a hot sauce called, “Panola Gourmet Pepper Sauce.” Located in Lake Providence in 1983, Panola has gone through a lot of adversity, but, it’s proven it’s got what it takes to “run with the big boys.” On their website, they describe the company as “a pack of pepper pickers.”

Grady Brown founded the company and their first bottle of “Panola Gourmet Pepper Sauce” appeared in 1983. In 1987, an electrical fire burned down the first pepper house that was in an old farm house. Not known to be a “quitter,” the pepper house was moved and production continued.  But, in 2001, a second fire destroyed the whole plant.

By 2002, the plant was back producing its hot sauce and has been ever since.  

For his perseverance, Grady Brown was awarded the Small Business Award of Louisiana in 2003. In 2006, Brown was awarded the United States Commerce Department’s Export Achievement Award and he was honored as their Businessman of the Year.

Grady Brown’s daughter and son-in-law, Mike Coullard moved to Lake Providence to learn the business and in 2013, Mike Coullard was named President and CEO of Panola Pepper Corporation.

Right now, Panola Pepper offers not only their gourmet hot sauce, but, worcheshire and barbecue sauces. There is also pickled garlic, jalapeno stuffed olives, spicy, sweet jalapeno peppers, lemon pepper and blackened fish seasoning and a very good Bloody Mary Mix. 

Now for those spices! I really like the story of Tony Chacerie and his famous “Chacerie’s Seasoning.” In his early days, Tony showed a natural talent and imagination that earned him a reputation as a chef. He eventually became known as “The Old Master” of fine Cajun cuisine. He had a hunting and fishing camp down in the Atchafalaya River swamp near Opelousas. That camp became a legendary haven for visiting gourmets and he entertained visiting dignitaries as well as common folks.

In 1970, Tony retired but didn’t slow down. He published a cookbook, “The Cajun Country Cookbook,” where he included his recipe for his favorite home made blend of spices. Its popularity exploded and in 1972, Tony started to manufacture of his famous “Tony’s Creole Seasoning.”

Tony and his recipes have been featured in the food pages of many newspapers and magazines. In March, 1995, he was honored by being the first inductee to The Louisiana Chef’s Hall of Fame.  He died just 1 week later, just shy of his 95th birthday.

Another seasoning, “Slap Yo Mama” was started by TW and Jen Walter. They owned a grocery story with a deli and were not quite satisfied with the seasoning they were using. So, they came up with their own recipe and soon, customers loved it so much, they wanted to buy it.  “Slap Yo Mama,” another family owned company, in Ville Platte, Louisiana, started production of their famous spice in 2001 which also features sauces and mixes. They, too, decided to compile a cookbook that included many stories and family recipes called, “Growing Up Cajun.”  Jen, the matriarch of the family even gives tips in preparing many of their favorite dishes.

The rest is history and it all started because they “wanted to make a seasoning to make food taste better.”

The company is still run by their sons and continues to grow.  “Slap Yo Mama” has some of the most dedicated fans in the south and southeast.

“Zatarain’s” has an interesting history. Started 125 years ago in New Orleans, it was started by Emile Zatarain.  He opened a grocery story and introduced “Papoose Root Beer Extract,” in 1889. He succeeded when he carbonated the extract and sold it in barrels to local restaurants and markets. He added a creole mustard and the recipe remains unchanged.  The boiling spice is a pickling spice that uses mustard seeds. A fish fry was added during the 60’s that uses corn flour instead of corn meal.

Soon the company grew so much and offered 200 different items, Emil sold the business and the name was changed to “Zatarain’s.” Since then, it has been bought by different companies through the years. Just lately McCormick, the spice giant, bought the company for $18 million and plans to keep manufacturing the original 200 products that will stay in the Greta facility. All the frozen products will be made in Sparks, Maryland.

We truly live in an amazing state with so many distinct cultures.  Originally colonized by France and settled by African, Spanish, Caribbean people, Irish, and Scotch, we really are a melting pot or I’d go so far as describing us as “a gumbo” of