Du Jour: Chris White, Louisiana Pepper Exchange

West Point grad and engineer Chris White had been working with his father in their engineered equipment sales business when a series of events led him into the pepper business. Today, White’s new company, Louisiana Pepper Exchange, is making a mark in the culinary world for its ability to import a wide variety of pepper mash from international growers and sell that mash both to hot sauce and salsa makers as well as direct to consumers. Mash is simply untainted pepper pulp combined with salt to keep it fresh. “It’s a completely different product than, say, a salsa or a hot sauce,” says White. “I’ve seen people mistake it for salsa and it really surprised them. It’s a whole lot hotter.” The product has caught the attention of Chef John Folse, who recently devoted one of his “Stirrin’ It Up” radio shows to an interview with White and a discussion of the culinary uses of pepper mash. White says it elevates all sorts of dishes, especially red beans, stews, casseroles, soups, eggs and more. Louisiana Pepper Exchange Operations Manager Bryan Kapp, who worked for more than 20 years for McIhenny Company, says the product is especially good at marinating meats because of its ability to penetrate the surface of proteins like chicken, beef or pork. It might take trial and error for consumers to find the right dose, but LPE’s pepper mash is a great fit for regional palates and cooking methods. Seven varieties of mash are currently available through the website. White says the company hopes to have a ghost pepper mash (one of the hottest varieties of peppers available) on the market soon.—Maggie Heyn Richardson