I'm going to talk about something that I probably use every day that I cook - Tabasco sauce.
Everybody knows about Tabasco - a dash or two will zip up any dish. And it's been that way for over 130 years, ever since Edmund McIlhenny made his first Tabasco sauce at Avery Island, LA by allowing his peppers to ferment, rather than boiling his concoction.
With the boom in spicy foods in the 70's and 80's, Tabasco became a condiment that rivaled ketchup and mustard in it's use. And as more and more hot sauces came onto the market - other small or regional hot sauce makers, the novelty sauces with names like "Ass in the Tub", "Rectal Rocket Fuel", and "Colon Cleaner", and national purveyors who have entered the market with their own hot sauce - Tabasco has had to evolve to make itself more broad in it's appeal.
In addition to the regular Tabasco sauce (of which we keep a 12 oz bottle in our fridge at all times), they've come up with a number of other spiced or seasoned sauces, condiments and marinades to broaden their appeal.
One new Tabasco product that I found not long ago that is quickly turning into one of my favorite things to put on or in food is their Chipotle Pepper sauce. It's not spicy as much as it is sort of smoky in taste. When I don't want to add heat to a dish, but want to give it a little bit of a smoky zing, I use the Chipotle Pepper sauce. I've had a 5 oz. bottle around here for about a month and it's already half gone. The taste of the Chipotle Pepper sauce is very smooth and adds a shot of that wonderful smoky chipotle taste to meats, poultry and seafood. I'm hoping they'll begin to market the stuff in the 12 oz. bottles.
Another new one that I found at Jungle Jim's during my last visit is the Tabasco Garlic Pepper sauce. They use three different types of peppers in the Garlic Pepper sauce. It's got some zip to it and it's wonderful in Bloody Mary's and as an addition to some beef dishes.
Speaking of Bloody Mary's, Tabasco makes a Bloody Mary mix that is about as close to pouring and drinking as the original Bloody Mary recipe from Harry's New York Bar in Paris (see my review). They mix up tomato juice, Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and Tabasco sauce so all you have to do is get a glass with a shot (or two) of vodka and pour in the mix. I like to spice mine up with a little more Garlic Pepper sauce and a dollop of Atomic Horseradish. God, that sounds kinda good right now!
In addition to those products, they also have steak sauces and marinades, and have partnered the great Tabasco taste with such diverse products as A-1 sauce, Cheez-it's, and Vlasic pickles.
Tabasco just announced a new sauce - a sweet and spicy sauce that can be used on Chinese food. I'm going to have to find some of that and take it with me to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants.
One of these days I'm going to go down to Avery Island and make a visit to the McIlhenny plant and tour the Tabasco factory. I've talked to people who've done that and they said it is just great. I understand that a Tabasco museum that was scheduled to open in New Orleans in 2006 has been put on the back burner due to on going issues with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
There's a lot of hot sauces out there, but none better than Tabasco.
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