Day 9 – Tabasco plantation and factory

All those hot-sauce lovers among our group were getting really excited when we were heading towards the Tabasco plantation and factory on Tuesday. After a 2-hour-drive we arrived at Avery Island. The region is called island because it’s located in the middle of wetland, and in fact the area is really fertile. While walking through a Bamboo-Forest and keeping an eye open for the bears which are living around that area, we were able to discover the place where the peppers grow, and the sauce is produced. According to company legend, Tabasco was first produced in 1868 by Edmund McIlhenny. The spicy sauce is made of peppers, vinegar and salt. Both, the pepper and the salt solely come from Avery Island and forms the basis for 700.000 bottles of Tabasco, which are produced at the factory every day. 3 years does it take for the sauce to mature in casks.

After the long aging process, the bottles are filled and then exported to almost every country in the world. But what does the word Tabasco actually mean? There are various explanations for the name Tabasco, the most common being that the word roughly means “land where the earth is hot and humid”. After discovering all those interesting facts about the hot sauce, of course we didn’t miss the chance to try all different flavors. Some of us even dared to try the hottest one.