The
Tabasco chili originated from a state of that name in south-east
Mexico, where the land is mostly flat and marshy and hot and humid with
extensive jungles. The Tabasco can be found growing commercially in New
Iberia, Louisiana, the home of the famous sauce company of the same
name where it has grown since at least 1850.
The
founder of the
famous McIlhenny
Tobasco sauce had never been to Tabasco, but
either he had been to other parts of Mexico or had received the seeds
as a gift from a friend just returned from Central America. He began
growing the peppers on Avery Island, and named the sauce "Tabasco"
because it sounded exotic, e.g. foreign and Mexican! The sauce
originally was produced from the red, ripe fruit but more
recently
is also produced from the green (unripe) fruit.
Tabasco
chiles are also grown by sauce makers in Venezuela and Guatemala.
The
Tabasco grows pointing upwards, is bright red when picked, 40 mm long
by 10 mm wide, and has a heat level of 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat
units. (Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco). Tabasco plants grow into
compact bushes 300 mm to 1,200 mm high, bearing around 100 pointed 35
mm long pods.
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