<\/h5>\n

The Bader family farm in Nebraska is dedicated to producing primo peppers from seed to shelf<\/span><\/h5>\n

Words by Levi Larson<\/span><\/em>
\nPhotos courtesy of Volcanic Peppers<\/em><\/p>\n

The internet was aflame with snark after 2016 presidential candidate Gary Johnson asked <\/span>MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe\u201d panelist Mike Barnicle, <\/span>\u201cWhat is Aleppo?\u201d<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/span>But Johnson could take the heat. After the incident, he accepted a bottle of \u00a0aleppo pepper sauce from Volcanic Peppers, a Nebraska-based chile pepper producing company that\u2019s proving you can pair politics and peppers\u2014all from the Midwest. <\/span><\/p>\n

Volcanic Peppers<\/span><\/a> is owned and operated by Timothy Bader and his family, with around 6,000 pepper plants grown on their farm in Bellevue, Nebraska. This in-house operation sees their products from seed to shelf, producing <\/span>fresh chile peppers such as habanero, cayenne, sweet and ultra hot peppers<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Timothy Bader, Volcanic Peppers\u2019 founding father, started growing peppers with his daughter as a hobby. \u201cI didn\u2019t have any big plans,\u201d he said. The brand actually got its start in 2009, when Bader played with the idea of being his own boss. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith a love for spicy [things], I thought, \u2018Why not make something with heat?\u2019\u201d Timothy said. \u00a0Soon, he\u2019d turn up the temperature on a new business. <\/span><\/p>\n

Three years later, Volcanic Peppers caught its big break. The ultra hot pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, was crowned the <\/span>World\u2019s Hottest Chili Pepper<\/span><\/a> in 2012, making the Bader family farm one of the very few (and sought after) homes of the champion veggie\u2014and the only retailer to sell the pepper in a ground-up form. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in the right place at the right time,\u201d Timothy said. \u201cI remember being excited when I got two orders in one week!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But those days are long behind the company, says Stephen Bader, Timothy\u2019s son and the head of marketing and outreach for the brand.\u201c[Now] it is all we can do to keep up with demand,\u201d Stephen said.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a love for spicy [things], I thought, \u2018Why not make something with heat?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

-Timothy Bader<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/b>Though the company has grown on an international scale, exporting peppers to Canada and Australia, it\u2019s their strong Midwestern presence that keeps\u00a0the company grounded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nebraskan Volcanic Peppers customer Duster Ellis explained that the health benefits are what attracted him to the company. \u00a0Every pepper grown on the Bader farm is pesticide-free, gluten-free, vegan and low in sodium. \u201cThey don\u2019t make stuff like this anymore, because there are so many preservatives and additives in things,\u201d Ellis said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Volcanic Sauces can be sweet like the Autumn Blaze Sauce\u2014a seasonal blend of honey, pumpkin and chipotle\u2014or live up to their eruptious name. For example, the LAVA Death by Douglah Hot Sauce offers a brief taste of cherries and pineapple with a flaming kick of the 7-Pot Douglah pepper, one of the hottest in the bunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Baders also create spice blends for a milder few who don\u2019t like hot sauce. Spices like Reaper Dust, made with the Carolina Reaper (Guinness Book of World Records\u2019 current record holder for hottest pepper) are designed to add heat in the kitchen, while products like the Volcanic Dust Level 0.5 offer a more tame touch to dishes.<\/span><\/p>\n

From mild tongue tingles to burn-your-mouth-off-must-have-milk strong, Stephen says \u201cThere\u2019s something for everybody.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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