Sun and Spice for the Southern Soul
As you enter hot pepper territory, the humidity sticks to your skin like wet silk, the air heavy with the musky breath of the bayou, and suddenly a spicy tang cuts through the miasma. The strangely irresistible scent of Tabasco lures you deeper into the bosom of a subtropical Eden, where one is serenaded by the crooning of birds and the whisper of breezes.
Deep in south Louisiana, six miles south of New Iberia, a subtropical paradise rises above the flat coastline, a sunny pleasure dome much like one described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in "Kubla Kahn." Coleridge dreamt of "caverns measureless to man" echoing beneath an exotic rolling landscape with "forests ancient as the hills, enfolding sunny spots of greenery...a savage place! As holy and enchanted as e'er beneath a waning moon..." Avery Island's rambling forests and lush gardens grow atop a huge rock salt dome that is thought to be deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Experts say it was created long ago by an ancient seabed pushed to the earth's surface by the sheer weight of surrounding alluvial sediment from the Mississippi Delta. It is one of five large salt dome "islands" in south Louisiana, and is now home to a wildlife reserve, an exotic botanical array, and best of all, a southern culinary legend.
For over 180 years, Avery Island has been owned by the interrelated Marsh, Avery, and McIlhenny families, who have put the area's abundant natural resources to good use in many ways. Petite Anse Island, renamed Avery Island in the 1830s, was inhabited for many years by Native Americans who existed amongst the verdant flora and fauna, trading salt that they extracted from the briny water. When the island was purchased by John Craig Marsh of New Jersey in 1818, its fertile soil was feeding a booming sugar plantation, and the seemingly endless salt resource beneath the earth was being mined.
Salt was a critical food preservative during the Civil War, so the Union army targeted Avery Island and invaded it in 1863. Yankee troops flooded the salt mines and burned the sugarcane fields. When the family, now the Marsh and Avery clans combined, returned to their war-ravaged plantation, they were disheartened, but their future soon brightened. Not long after the Civil War they welcomed Edmund McIlhenny into the family when he married Sarah Marsh Avery, and he soon discovered a new use for the land-something uniquely southern-that put the family on the map.
McIlhenny planted a handful of Mexican pepper seeds in his in-laws' garden that had been given to him by a traveling salesman; they flourished in the rich soil, growing ripe and heavy on their green leafy stalks. He began playing around with these red capiscum peppers, creating various concoctions to enhance the dreary Reconstruction era food, and he struck gold when he decided to use the ripest ruby-red peppers of the crop. He crushed them up, mixing them with salt from the island, and sealed the flavor in through an aging process. The mixture was then thoroughly blended with French white wine vinegar and strained.
McIlhenny realized that the potent condiment was best dispensed in small drops, so he used old cologne bottles fitted with sprinkler tips, sealing them with green wax. He called his hot sauce "Tabasco" because he liked the sound of this Mexican Indian word. (It is also the name of a tropical region located southeast of Mexico.) Tabasco has various meanings, such as "bountiful land," "place that has owner," "waterlogged earth," and "land where oil is humid," among others.
Tabasco has made the island a landmark, home of a local legend enjoyed by people all over the world. As early as 1870 McIlhenny was exporting his sauce épicée to Europe. Every bottle of Tabasco, which is available in a wide array of flavors, is still bottled on Avery Island, though many of the peppers are now grown in Latin America.
At Avery Island, visitors can tour the factory, see how Tabasco is made, aged to perfection, and transported to eager customers. And then, of course, there's the country store where you can buy lots of different kinds of Tabasco and Tabasco related paraphernalia. If you're anything like me-and I am one of those Cajun girls who eats their hot sauce with food instead of the other way around-you will not want to miss out on this experience. I have tasted many different kinds of hot sauces growing up in Louisiana, and it has become kind of a hobby. Tabasco far surpasses other local hot sauces. I have been asking for my own personalized gallon of garlic Tabasco every Christmas for years (Tabasco offers personalized gallons of their various flavors, available on their website at www.tabasco.com).
So, after you have gotten your fill of Tabasco products, you can explore the natural beauty of Avery Island. The property is home to a well-known bird sanctuary named Bird City, where each spring thousands of egrets and other birds migrate to nest.
In 1892, plume hunters were slaughtering egrets by the thousands and selling their silky feathers to adorn ladies hats. Edward McIlhenny, son of Edmund and Sarah McIlhenny, worried about the rapidly depleting wildfowl population, captured eight wild egrets and raised them in captivity. Each fall, "M'sieu Ned," as he was fondly called, released them to migrate across the Gulf of Mexico, and when they returned, they brought more and more birds with them each time. The family has continued his tradition, making Avery Island a haven for over 20,000 herons and egrets, as well as for many other waterfowl and wildlife.
Ned McIlhenny was also interested in rare and exotic plants, and he worked passionately to enhance the natural beauty of the island; this is apparent today in the 250-acre Jungle Gardens. Amongst the live oaks draped with Spanish moss, you can find a large variety of camellias, azaleas, Egyptian papyrus, bamboo, and much more. In 1942, he fought to preserve the island when oil was found and tapped; he made sure pipelines did not interfere with the root systems of the live oaks and that any visible pipes were camouflaged, ensuring that the property remained a safe wildlife reserve of extraordinary botanical beauty. Jungle Gardens is appreciated by visitors today from all over the world, many of whom are attracted by the plant and animal life of Avery Island. Ned McIlhenny's writings and drawings are kept in the McIlhenny Collection at Louisiana State University.
Though Avery Island is said to be the most beautiful when the flowers first unfurl in the springtime and the snowy white egrets fill the blue skies, the subtropical climate allows this quiet paradise to remain in full bloom for most of the year. Experience a variety of mouth-watering sauces and southern cultural history at the Tabasco museum, and enjoy the timeless natural beauty of this secluded natural wonderland. Pay a visit to the ancient Buddha statue stationed in a shrine in the Chinese Garden, meander down the rambling paths beneath the moss laced oaks, and allow the sun and fresh air to renew your spirit. ✦
