1When it comes to cuisine, some like it hot.
2A quick way to satisfy a pecan-loving palate is with a splash or two of hot sauce.
3Typically served with Mexican food such as nachos, tacos, and burritos,
4it can also spice up everyday fare such as eggs, potatoes, and sandwiches.
5This American company has been producing hot sauce, also called pepper sauce, since 1868.
6Its signature version is made from Tabasco peppers, a type of chili pepper.
7The brand also comes in additional varieties
8using habanero, chipotle, and green jalapeño peppers.
9The company has pepper fields at its home base in Louisiana
10as well as in Central and South America.
11Using seeds harvested from the Louisiana crop,
12the company president uses his experienced eye to select the best plants for seed extraction.
13Those with even and early ripening, juicy peppers,
14well-formed layered branches,
15and healthy, damage-free leaves.
16He marks his selection with a string,
17then pickers harvest those peppers and send them to the seed extractor.
18The peppers are hand-picked for sauce production as well.
19To determine which ones are ripe enough,
20the pickers use what Cajuns call a "petite baton rouge,"
21French for "a little red stick."
22If a pepper matches the color of the stick, they harvest it;
23if not, it stays on the plant.
24It's labor-intensive but ensures only the perfect peppers go into the sauce.
25Within hours of harvesting, the factory grinds the peppers and mixes them with salt.
26This creates a mash, which then goes into oak whiskey barrels to ferment and age.
27Wooden barrels breathe, letting in just enough air to spur natural yeast growth,
28the key to fermentation.
29But not too much air, which would discolor the mash and produce a metallic flavor.
30After laying paper on top of the mash to prevent surface discoloration,
31workers seal the barrels.
32Then they spread a layer of salt over the top.
33The barrels now go to the warehouse,
34where the mash ferments and ages for three years.
35Fermentation releases carbon dioxide gas,
36which forces liquid out through a vent hole in the top of the barrel.
37The salt absorbs the liquid and hardens.
38After the 3-year fermentation and aging period,
39they break up the salt and open the barrel.
40What was once pungent and acrid is now aromatic
41with a mellow, complex flavor.
42However, it still needs significant refining.
43So they pump it into large mixing tanks,
44add vinegar, then churn for three to four weeks.
45That's how long it takes for the vinegar to break down the pepper solids into smaller particles.
46During that process, the vinegar also takes on the color, flavor, and aroma of the peppers.
47The sauce requires no cooking whatsoever
48because the vinegar acts as a natural preservative.
49The next step is a 2-stage milling process.
50The first mill extracts the pepper pulp.
51The second mill removes the seeds.
52The sauce is now finished.
53The quality control department analyzes samples from every batch of sauce for viscosity,
54pH, salt level, and other criteria.
55Lab technicians also perform taste tests for flavor,
56clearing their palate in between with crackers
57and cooling the fiery heat with ice cream bars.
58Once the batch gets the thumbs up, it's pumped to the bottling line.
59The company uses glass rather than plastic
60because glass is a better barrier against oxygen.
61Oxygen penetration would adversely affect the flavor and color of the sauce.
62The capping machine twists on a plastic screw cap.
63Then the bottles travel to the labeler,
64which adheres the main product label,
65slips on a decorative neckband,
66and applies a clear plastic seal over the cap.
67Hot off the production line and ready to go.