Definitely! Great stuff. Allen is a chilehead and part of a the group over at the Coast to Coast Pepper Forum. Ted ----- Original Message ---- > From: Buffalo Sue <bflosue@earthlink.net> > To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com > Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 11:50:12 AM > Subject: [CH] Inmates fire up sales of jail-produced hot sauce > > Anyone tried these? > > http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/14/florida.jailhouse.hot.sauce/index.html > > > TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- Some Florida minimum-security inmates want to know: Can > you handle the heat? > > Hot sauce heat, that is -- Jail House Fire Hot Sauce, cooked up by inmates at > the Hillsborough County Jail and now offered for sale. > > The idea to make Jail House Fire Hot Sauce came from a Cuban former inmate who > thought food in the big house was bland. > > Allen Boatman, the head of the jail's horticulture program, remembers what his > former trusty said: "We're growing these peppers. Why don't we use them?" > > Peppers are grown as part of the jail's horticulture program, which is voluntary > and offered only to minimum-security trusties. The inmates learn about growing > plants, ornamentals, trees, herbs and vegetables -- including more than 1,200 > varieties of peppers. > > "I thought that was a great idea, so I started doing research on some of the > recipes," says Boatman. The research led to a variety of hot sauces that can be > bought for $7 a bottle at the jail in Tampa, Florida, or online at > www.jailhousefire.org. > > There are three different sauces for sale: > > # "No Escape" -- This is the hottest of the hot, with a warning on the hot > sauce's Web site: "It's not for the faint of stomach." > > # "Smoke" -- This is the sauce that inmate Marshall Deline recommends. "It's not > as hot," Deline says, "it's more of a smoky flavor." > > # "Original" -- This is the favorite of customer Bill Bradley, who has used hot > sauce on his foods for 49 years. "All three are distinctive," says Bradley, who > considers himself somewha ert. "The 'Smoke' is a chipotle > type, the 'Original' has a good bite but has a little bit of a fruity taste. > And, of course, the 'No Escape' is on fire." > > Coming soon is a fourth sauce: Misdemeanor. > > Orders for the Jail House Fire sauces have come in from as far away as Germany, > England and even Australia. > > The inmates make no money from this product. The money goes back into an inmate > fund that pays for things like the greenhouse where the peppers are grown. > > The horticulture program pays for itself, says Boatman, so no taxpayer money is > used. > > Several times a year the program hosts a sale of its ornamentals, shrubs and > trees, and the locals turn up to support the program. The money raised is used > to purchase necessities like fertilizer and soil. > > A green thumb is not the only thing that inmate and program member Deline is > developing, he says. > > "We learn a lot about professionalism, respect, teamwork, ya know -- all that > helps," Deline says. > > And working in the fields is good for the inmates' self-worth, Boatman says. > > "They actually see something growing that they've been involved in. It gives > them a lot of sense of pride and accomplishment," says Boatman. "Possibly > that'll give them some momentum when they are released to go and get a job and > start being a productive member of society." > > Boatman doesn't just wish his trusties a good future; he gives them an > opportunity. When the inmates are released, they are given a certificate of > completion in vocational horticulture. This certificate comes from the school > board, with no mention of the program behind bars. > > Deline hopes this will work in his favor when he starts looking for a job. > > "Florida is full of a lot of landscaping [and] landscaping companies, a lot of > nursery companies," Deline says. "Maybe I can use the experience to better > myself in the future."