Hot stuff

Howling Fire and Spice of Beatrice doesn’t need a gimmick to get people to stop and sample the sauce at Jerry Meyer’s Nebraska State Fair booth.

The word habanero pulls them in.

“Habanero is the greatest publicity because it’s the hottest pepper in the world,” said Meyer, who owns Blue Stem Herb Farm and Howling Fire and Spice in Beatrice.

Meyer was among the many Nebraska food sellers set up at the fair on Tuesday. He’s been there for 10 years through the University of Nebraska Food Processing Program, and he’ll be at the fair Thursday and over the Labor Day weekend.

“It’s a necessary thing, you’ve got to do these things,” Meyer said.

He started growing habeneros about 15 years ago after he saw the pepper seeds for sale in a gardening catalog.

“It’s a unique thing, not everybody has got it,” Meyer said.

Soon after, he began experimenting with the peppers and creating his own recipes, he said.

“I got a couple of recipes and tried them out at home. Then I decided what I wanted to do.”

In his state-certified kitchen, Meyer began concocting and producing his sauces, and Howling Fire and Spice was born.

He started with Habanero Sauce and Mango Habanero Sauce, he said. His Blackberry Habanero Jam is popular, said Meyer, who sells his products around the state, including HyVee stores in Lincoln and Clabaugh Pharmacy and Gift Shop in Beatrice, Meyer said. Some Omaha restaurant buy them for use in their own recipes.

He’s also sold his wares to people from as far away as Massachusetts and California and Mexico, he said.

“I had this in mind, but I wasn’t sure that it would work like this,” Meyer said.

He continues to experiment and work on new product lines.

“I’ve got two on the back burner, but I can’t get them right yet.”