曾经想过每个桌子上的那些小红色瓶子来自哪里？
You’re probably used to thinking of the salt mines as places of penultimate punishment; not quite execution but the next worst thing. That’s enough to give any kind of enterprise a bad name. Not down in Louisiana, though. Down there, the salt mines are a vital part of an important and popular industry: the manufacture of hot sauce; specifically, Tabasco.
我的伙伴迈克和我飞往巴顿胭脂，从巴吞鲁日哈利·戴维森和西部举行了一些租赁自行车。这是星期六，布雷苏克桥的咖啡馆Des Amis致电Zydeco和Cajun Cookin'。在让我们填补两者之后，我们搬到拉斐特的Blue Moon Guest House，一个带酒吧和房间的布鲁斯地点。完美的。那个晚上在更多的Cajun食物中，迈克在他的手指上滚动了无处不在的塔巴萨斯，“这东西在这里做了，不是吗？”
不,迈克,我们不能配合到哈利的panniers!
Indeed it is. It has been made on by the McIlhenny family on Avery Island, Louisiana for more than five generations. Edmund McIlhenny founded McIlhenny Company just three years after the Civil War, and began manufacturing Tabasco brand pepper sauce in 1868. He received letters patent for his formula in 1870, and the same basic process is still used today.
“我们所有的辣椒都是用手挑选的，”该公司的网站说。“捡拾机通过将辣椒的颜色与小木制销钉进行比较来确保成熟，”Le PetitBâton胭脂“画了Tabasco Red的首选色调...... MICLHENNY家族的成员个人在收获期间亲自选择最佳植物。从那些植物的辣椒种子进行处理并干燥，以供持续的较年的作物使用。
“我们的胡椒粉捣碎在白色橡木桶中长达三年。这个过程创造了Tabasco酱独特的微妙味道。每批胡椒粉都是由MICLHENNY家族成员个人检查的，以确保酱汁的最高品质。“
Riding the bayou trails is a thoroughly pleasant experience and you never know when you’ll find a boudin shack.
该厂的商店提供了广泛的塔巴斯科相关产品。
我想让家庭成员忙碌，看到大量的辣椒作物在中美洲种植。但工厂不在艾弗里岛上，因为这就是辣椒的发展。岛上实际上是岩盐巨大的圆顶，三英里长，两英里半，宽半英里，这是临界局部成分。它是由密西西比河三角洲地区存在的古代蒸发矿（盐）沉积物的升值来创造的。这些升值被称为“盐圆顶”。Avery Island是其中五分之一，其中之一升起了路易斯安那州湾海岸。
唯一的其他成分是醋，酱汁 - 实际上酱汁 - 含有没有卡路里或脂肪。有八种不同的口味：原始的红色，绿色jalapeño，大蒜辣椒，哈瓦纳罗，chipotle，甜＆辣，水牛风格和sriracha酱。限量版偶尔也瓶装。
What is more interesting to motorcyclists is that the island is now almost as much a tourist attraction as a factory location. Open every day from 9am-4pm at a price of $5.50 the attractions include the Tabasco Museum, Pepper Greenhouse, Barrel Warehouse, Blending and Bottling, Avery Island Conservation, Salt Mine diorama, Tabasco Country Store, and 1868 Restaurant. You can see them all on a self-guided tour. As well, there are the famed 170-acre Jungle Gardens and Bird City.
尽管田园诗般的环境，但艾弗里岛工厂生产所有Tabasco，每天70万瓶。每次两盎司的瓶子持有720滴。每年，超过10万人访问岛屿唯一的用餐机构是1868年的餐厅。“所有菜单项都补充了不同的酱油口味，所有的酱油都是桌子。岛屿活动还包括鸟类观察和塔巴萨科工厂和博物馆。“
Nearby fishing wharves with their restaurants offer plenty of opportunities to try out the magic sauce.
如果您需要概念禁止美国烹饪世界的塔巴斯科酱的重要性，您可能会注意到美瓶中包含在美国陆军的MRE（准备吃饭的餐点）包装中。这些东西分发给世界195个国家的185个;“麦当劳只是119年，”公司注明。标签用22种不同的语言和方言印刷。
Mike and I, overcome by Southern lassitude, took I90 south to the intersection with Louisiana 14 and turned east to the right-hand turn into Highway 329, Avery Island Road. Predictably enough, that takes you to the ‘island’ – it is that in name only, although it seems like it when you get there.
You can easily spend half a day there; if you’re a twitcher (bird watcher) make that a whole day or even two. Should you be from the Commonwealth, show some respect; even Queen Elizabeth has Tabasco in her kitchen and the company has had a Royal Warrant since 2009.
There is a lot more I could write about Avery Island and Tabasco, but instead I’ll leave you with an image of Mike and my humble self, settled in the shade outside the Country Store with the best Bloody Marys either of us has ever had, considering that a hot sauce can be so cool.
