Monday, March 17, 2008

Don't Leave Home Without It






There is one thing I always make sure is in my bag before I head to the airport. It may seem a trivial thing, but I simply must have a bottle of Baumer Food's Crystal Hot Sauce with me. While Tabasco is now almost universally available around the world, Crystal Sauce is not nearly as available and I can't count on it being available. When in third world countries where the food is described as basic at best, that bottle of Crystal is a lifesaver. I add it everything and anything.

Why Crystal you ask? Well, Crystal Sauce is made from cayenne peppers instead of tabasco peppers. It is not as hot as tabasco, even though they are rated the same on the Scoville Scale. Crystal adds more flavor than heat.

Baumer Foods is a New Orleans institution. Their trademark sign was always a feature above the Pontchartrain Expressway as you drove to the airport. It used to have steam emanating from the pot. Sadly, Katrina put an end to it. They produce over 3 million gallons of the hot stuff a year. For the oilfield hands, that a 200 barrel a day well of hot sauce. After Katrina, Baumer moved the plant out of New Orleans and upriver to Reserve, Louisiana to prevent it from flooding in future hurricanes.

No comments: