RE: [CH] Faux Chipotle
Frank J. Hashek (fhashek@comcast.net)
Mon, 2 Jun 2008 12:26:28 -0400
Guess I've got to weigh in on this one, usually I just lurk and watch the
fire. Today, I feel in a mood to fan the fire ;-)
There are a lot of good mass marketed products out there. What makes them
good is working to keep good quality and staying true to purpose.
What would, in my mind, cause them to become evil is the cheapening of the
product with things artificial. Someone earlier mentioned artificial smoke
flavor. That is the type of thing that is an unacceptable concession to
mass marketing.
And here is where I invite the flames. I don't have a problem with the TAM
Jalapeno. I only eat them (or their genetic cousins) when I buy Jalapenos
at places other than the Hispanic groceries and get them by accident.
Still, there are people who like them and they have brought in many, perhaps
millions of, people as members of the moderate corps. I would much rather
have a traditionally smoked TAM Jalapeno (TAM Chipotle) and add some of
Jim's Red Savina for heat than have a traditional Jalapeno with artificial
smoke flavor and wish it tasted good.
And to descend further toward the flames: In the sixties the noted
segregationist, George Wallace, said that there isn't a dimes worth of
difference between the two major parties. That is still basically true
today. Despite what they say, both parties spend our tax dollars like
drunken sailors. The Republicans say that they cut taxes, and they do.
I've seen it in single digit numbers on my paychecks. They just put their
spending on the National Mastercard. Then the Democrats come in and raise
taxes to pay off the bill. Then the Republicans come back with the
Mastercard and the beat goes on.
I once worked with a guy who said that we never vote "for" anyone in an
election. We vote against the politician that we do not like, because we
can't trust any of them to do what they say.
Let the flames begin,
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
[mailto:owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com] On Behalf Of jim@wildpepper.com
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 10:49 AM
To: Rael64
Cc: Chile Heads
Subject: Re: [CH] Faux Chipotle
I *knew* without even opening it that it was going to be a rant from Rael
:-) I grinned as soon as I saw the sender, knowing it was 'soap box' time!
Here's a couple of points for general discussion....
At what point does a small manufacturer cross over to "evil corporate mass
marketer type"? I enjoy a certain amount of good will and have a decent
reputation (I think ;-) but my goal is, as a business, to make my Chipotle
Sauce the number one seller in the world. At what point in that goal do I
go from 'artisinal maker' to 'mass marketer' and from good to evil? Since
the formula and taste of the sauce doesn't change, where is the crime
committed that takes it from acceptable to being railed against? Or should
I say 'rael-ed against'? :-P What drives the change in perception?
Can the point not also be made, that by 'dumbing down' some of this stuff,
that we are in fact converting legions of people to the CH side who
otherwise would not have dared? We've talked about Tabasco as a common
gateway drug for most of us into the CH world, for good or ill, so why is
this any different? People will try the 'faux chipolte' and I suspect a
good many of them will then want to experiment further having discovered
that chiles have flavor and not just heat. How many of us would be here if
Tabasco were as hot as Dave's? I also suspect a good number of the folks
will be drawn further into the CH world *because* they recognize this as
'faux chipotle' and are left unsatisfied.
This ever increasing drive to sameness and blandness is on an exponetial
curve at the moment. The government, in all it's benificance, has
implemented yet another sweeping set of food regs that are going to drive
most all small manufaturers out of business if rigidly enforced.
I myself have never been so close to 'chucking it all' at the frustration of
trying to keep up with all the expensive (!!) and mind-numbing changes.
It's just not worth my while. And I'm far from alone in that! Several
other folks you know and love as sauce makers are near the breaking point as
well. As more and more of us go out of biz at the hands of the gov, your
choices as consumers will become less and less- better get used to faux
chipolte ;-)
Oh, and before fingers start getting pointed left and right.... The single
biggest beaurocratic increase came (surprise!) in the Clinton Admin. If
nothing else, he would have been remembered as the 'food safety pres' for
the sheer volume of new regulations enacted. The setting of them into
stone, with the force and full power of law enformcement behind them, came
in under the Bush Admin with the Bio-terrorism/Food Safety Act. I hear Dems
rael against "big oil" & "big tobacco" & "big business" but the worst of the
'bigs' is one they're in bed with and the most dangerous of all- "Big
Government"! I hear Repubs give lip service about how little businesses are
the engine driving economic expansion yet I see danged little evidence from
them that they truly believe that. And since both are just as complicit as
the other at getting us to our present state, the finger can only be pointed
at the people that put them there and that would be us.
Group hug now.... :-)
-Jim
http://www.StepUpforCharity.org