Lunch time in Mother’s Diner, downtown New Orleans. Plates are piled with po’boys, mighty sandwiches stuffed with fried shrimp, oysters or roast beef. Their gravy-drenched prodigality belies their origins as hand outs to starving workers during a street car strike in the Twenties.
Muffaletta anyone? It’s like a plate sized flat loaf filled with marinated olive and slices of salami, emmental cheese, mortadella and provolone. Buy one and feed the whole family.
Maybe a bowl of gumbo, a broth of seafood or meat seasoned in file (acute) or how about a mound of debris, the shavings from the roast joint left floating in the gravy?
This is Louisiana where the food is born out of hard times - from the Spanish occupation and the wreckage of the Civil War and from outside cultures such as the Creole mix of French, Spanish and African American and the Cajuns who settled there when expelled by the British from their Nova Scotia homeland in 1755.
Today these are all dishes made exotic by their unfamiliarity to European palates and given extra gusto by another Louisiana classic sitting on Mother’s tables – a good ole, red topped, green necked bottle of Tabasco.
Hard to imagine an eaterie in Louisiana not serving the state’s home grown pepper sauce. Even the most sophisticated of the restaurants in food-loving New Orleans - legendary names such as Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace or Antoine’s - have bottles at the ready.
Why stop there? Tabasco is sold in 160 countries, including the UK where it has been on sale since 1873, cheering up bland breakfasts and lacklustre lunches, bringing zest to oysters and putting the Bloody into Mary. It is found in London restaurants such as Hix’s Oyster and Chophouse, Richard Corrigan's Bentley's and the Bibendum Oyster bar (of course) and even that stalwart of spice the Star of India.
Now it transpires that this most bravura of exports is a favourite of the British Royal Family, so much so that it has been granted a royal warrant by The Queen – making it the only independent US firm in the food category. Heinz, owners of Worcester and HP Sauce, also have the coveted imprimateur.
It’s an incongruous thought, a bottle of Tabasco on the Buckingham Palace sideboard. How are they on Louisiana cuisine at the Palace?
Grits with the black ham and eggs, Ma’am?
Grits! It is hard to find a food more likely to disappoint Her Majesty than the tasteless sludge of ground corn. Even with the reviving tincture of Tabasco, this is alien culinary territory - almost as alien as the bayous of Louisiana, where skeletal trees are laden with eerie curtains of Spanish Moss, where egrets stalk and alligators nose through the green algae.
But deep in the bayous of this, the least American of states, is the headquarters of this, the most American of brands.
It was here, on Avery Island in 1865 that Edmund McIlhenny, a banker who had lost his fortune in the American Civil War planted his first peppers. The story goes that he was given a handful of seeds by a Confederate soldier who had fled to Mexico after the war. McIlhenny planted them and was delighted when half a dozen bushes sprang up. He experimented with mashing the peppers, adding vinegar and salt, to make a sauce which he bottled in old cologne bottles. He was better placed than most culinary adventurers. Avery Island is, in fact, the dome of one of the biggest salt mines in America.
The following year he produced 658 bottles. By 1889 production reached 41,472 bottles. Today 700,000 bottles rattle off the lines every day.
It still has the same ingredients of peppers, natural vinegar and a small amount of salt which are matured for up to three years in old white oak whisky barrels. Grand pere, as he is known by today’s family, would still recognise the flavour.
John McIlhenny, the elder son, who took over in 1890, increased the pepper fields from five to 70 acres and stepped up production. But he was restless, joining President Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders to fight in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and helping to quell a revolt against US rule in the Philippines. His brother Ned spent years exploring the Arctic and his son, Walter, went to war in 1941. Using the combat code name Tabasco Mac, he fought at Guadalcanal against the Japanese where, according to an eyewitness, ‘he leaned up against a coconut tree and started firing. He killed six of them, just like that.’
With all this adventuring it’s a wonder that Tabasco flourished but in between hunting, shooting and looking for trouble the company’s marketing accelerated – particularly under Walter, who used every gimmick available to him such as promotional songs on the new 45 rpm records, supplying US servicemen in Vietnam with a Tabasco recipe book. During the Iraqi conflict an advert showed a marine about to hurl a bottle of Tabasco as if it was a hand grenade with the slogan: ‘Defending The World Against Bland Food’ and last month the British army in Afghanistan were sent Tabasco to doing their bit to combat "menu fatigue and taste degradation".
Walter paid for gimmicks such as arranging product placement in the Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun and even having the spicy liquid shot into space with the Shuttle missions.
Britain was an early market. The first export arrived in 1873, though the grocers Crosse and Blackwell turned down the chance to handle its sales because there was such a glut of sauces that would they thought it would be ‘unprofitable’. Today more than two million bottles are sold a year.
The Royal Warrant might be one of the company’s highest accolades but it will have to be its most discreet. The manufacturer can acknowledge the warrant only with the ‘By appointment ...’ sign on the label and is not allowed to use it for anything as vulgar as advertising. The warrant is earned by supplying the royals for at least five years and all 800 of the current holders will have passed a series of checks on their environmental credentials and the conditions enjoyed by their work force.
Paul McIlhenny, the latest in the dynasty, lives on Avery Island like his predecessors and is very much in their mould. He is an enthusiastic fisherman and ‘wing shooter’ – a wild bird hunter.
“My bit for conservation,” he jokes.
He is clearly a man who knows his food – no stranger to the best restaurants in New Orleans - and has a reputation for being an accomplished cook. He has introduced new varieties such as a jalapeno-based green sauce, a chipotle smoked version, sweet and spicy and garlic.
But it’s the original that captures the imagination and, no doubt, challenges the royal taste buds – maybe because it has stayed true to Grand pere’s recipe.
As Jeremy Lee, the exuberant head chef of the Blueprint Cafe, London, says: “I can’t imagine a kitchen without Tabasco. You can make something out of nothing with just a few drops. It’s like the magic elixir of life.
“And how could you have a Bloody Mary without it?”
Richard Holledge is writing a book on the expulsion of the Cajuns
Recipes
Classic Bloody Mary
1 quart tomato juice
1 cup vodka
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Half teaspoon Tabasco original
Lime slices or celery stalks
Combine tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and Tabasco in a two-quart pitcher; stir well. Serve over ice. Garnish with lime or celery.
Serves six.
Bordertown Burgers with Spicy Onions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons Tabasco Chipotle sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 teaspoon salt
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese (semi hard cow’s milk cheese)
4 hamburger buns, toasted
Mixed baby greens
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; add onion and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring often. Stir in 1 tablespoon Chipotle Sauce and the Worcestershire sauce; mix well and remove from heat.
Combine ground beef, coriander, green onion, salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons of Tabasco; mix well and shape into 4 burgers. Grill over medium-high heat - about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Top each burger with a slice of cheese and grill just until melted. Place on buns and top with spicy onions and baby greens.
Makes 4 servings.
Eula Mae Doré's Potato Salad
2 pounds medium-size red potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
11/2 teaspoons salt, divided
6 hard-cooked eggs
Quarter cup vegetable oil
Half teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon original Tabasco
1 sweet pickle, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
Half green sweet pepper, chopped
Fill a 3- quart saucepan two-thirds full of cold water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook over medium heat about 15 minutes or until tender; drain.
Peel eggs and separate yolks and whites; chop whites and set aside. Mash yolks in a large bowl and stir in oil and vinegar. Add mayonnaise, Tabasco and remaining half teaspoon salt.
Dice potatoes and add to mayonnaise mixture along with pickle, celery, bell pepper and egg whites. Mix well and refrigerate until 15 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Fire and Ice Cream
Half cup milk
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
1 strip orange peel (from 1 small orange)
4 whole cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ teaspoons original Tabasco
2 cups full cream, whipped
Cinnamon sticks and orange peel twists for garnish (optional)
Combine milk, cinnamon stick, orange peel and cloves in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavours. Set aside to cool to room temperature; strain.
Combine milk mixture, vanilla, condensed milk and Tabasco in a large bowl and mix well; gently fold in whipped cream. Cover and freeze until firm, stirring once.
To serve, scoop ice cream into glasses or dessert dishes. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and orange peel twists, if desired.
Makes 6 servings.
… and a classic: Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Half pound smoked sausage, cut into half inch slices
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup diced fresh or canned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon original Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground mixed spice
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage, celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.
Stir in broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, Tabasco, oregano, thyme, and mixed spice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add shrimp; cover and simmer 5 minutes longer or until rice is tender and shrimp turn pink. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Makes 4 servings.