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Tabasco: An Illustrated History
TABASCO(R) An Illustrated History is the first and only book about the McIlhenny family and company based on previously untapped documents in the McIlhenny Company Archives. This chronicle examines the origin of TABASCO(R) sauce, from its post-Civil War creation on Avery Island, Louisiana, to its evolution into the "gold standard" of pepper sauces and a global culinary icon.
It also examines the often stranger-than-fiction stories that are inexorably bound up with the rise of TABASCO(R)--Edmund McIlhenny's creation of the sauce in the midst of Reconstruction-era economic ruin; John Avery McIlhenny's adventures in Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders volunteer cavalry regiment; Edward Avery McIlhenny's explorations in the unforgiving Arctic; and Walter S. McIlhenny's amazing heroics in World War II, which eventually secured him the rank of brigadier general, even as he modernized his family business and ensured its success into the late Twentieth century.
In addition to the central narrative, TABASCO(R) An Illustrated History contains numerous detailed sidebars, as well as over a dozen historical recipes selected from handwritten McIlhenny family cookbooks and other archival sources. This book boasts hundreds of fascinating photographs, both in color and black-and-white, many of which are previously unpublished.
It also examines the often stranger-than-fiction stories that are inexorably bound up with the rise of TABASCO(R)--Edmund McIlhenny's creation of the sauce in the midst of Reconstruction-era economic ruin; John Avery McIlhenny's adventures in Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders volunteer cavalry regiment; Edward Avery McIlhenny's explorations in the unforgiving Arctic; and Walter S. McIlhenny's amazing heroics in World War II, which eventually secured him the rank of brigadier general, even as he modernized his family business and ensured its success into the late Twentieth century.
In addition to the central narrative, TABASCO(R) An Illustrated History contains numerous detailed sidebars, as well as over a dozen historical recipes selected from handwritten McIlhenny family cookbooks and other archival sources. This book boasts hundreds of fascinating photographs, both in color and black-and-white, many of which are previously unpublished.
242 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2007
27 people want to read
About the author
Shane K. Bernard
9 books27 followersA Cajun from Lafayette, Louisiana, Shane K. Bernard holds degrees in English and History from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a doctorate in History from Texas A&M University.
Bernard serves as historian and curator to McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco brand products since 1868. He has appeared on the History Channel, CNN, CNBC, the BBC, and NPR, as well as in National Geographic.
Bernard lives in New Iberia, Louisiana.
His website is www.cajunculture.com and his blog is Bayou Teche Dispatches.
Click to hear him discuss his book The Cajuns: Americanization of a People on NPR's "Morning Edition".
Click to hear him discuss the history of Tabasco brand pepper sauce on NPR's "Morning Edition".
Bernard serves as historian and curator to McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco brand products since 1868. He has appeared on the History Channel, CNN, CNBC, the BBC, and NPR, as well as in National Geographic.
Bernard lives in New Iberia, Louisiana.
His website is www.cajunculture.com and his blog is Bayou Teche Dispatches.
Click to hear him discuss his book The Cajuns: Americanization of a People on NPR's "Morning Edition".
Click to hear him discuss the history of Tabasco brand pepper sauce on NPR's "Morning Edition".
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 30, 2009
Not just a pretty coffee table book. Detailed and interesting chronicle of the many generations of McIlhenny families. If you love Tabasco half as much as I do, you'll appreciate this one.
April 10, 2024
Not so much an objective history as it is a corporate record of achievement. Very nicely illustrated.
October 9, 2011
Beautiful history of Tabasco and the family who has run the company so well that it is still wholly family owned and operated among many other interesting endeavors by the family. WOW, what a family. Lots of historic pics and recipes!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews