Zatarain's facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Processed & Packaged goods |
| Founded | New Orleans (1889) |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Products | Spices, herbs, flavorings, rice |
| Owner | McCormick & Company |
Zatarain's is an American food and spice company. It is based in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. The company makes many products with seasonings and spices. These products are a big part of the food culture in Louisiana, especially the Cajun and Creole traditions. Zatarain's sells items like root beer extract, seasonings, and ready-to-eat boxed and frozen meals.
The company began in New Orleans in 1886. In 1963, when the Zatarain family sold the business, it moved to the nearby town of Gretna. Today, Zatarain's is owned by McCormick & Company, the largest spice company in the world.
How Zatarain's Started
Zatarain's was started by Emile A. Zatarain Sr. in 1886. He was a merchant and an entrepreneur. He first opened a grocery store in New Orleans. His store was special because it had the very first National Cash Register in Louisiana.
A few years later, Emile Zatarain created a special recipe for root beer. This root beer became very popular in the area. He introduced it on May 7, 1889, at the Louisiana Exposition. He called his root beer "Papoose Root Beer" and even got a trademark for it.
The root beer was so successful that Emile started a new business called Papoose Pure Food Products in 1889. He built a factory and began to sell his root beer extract. He found it was cheaper to sell the root beer as an extract that people could mix with carbonated water.
Emile then added more products to his company. He started selling mustard, pickled vegetables, and other flavor extracts. Soon, he moved into the spice business. Zatarain's became well-known for its New Orleans and Cajun-style food products.
Emile Zatarain Sr. had five sons, and they all joined the family business. In 1922, as his sons took on more responsibility, the business was renamed E.A. Zatarain & Sons, Inc. Emile A. Zatarain, Jr. and his wife, Ida May Bennett Zatarain, later took over. Ida May even created new recipes for their products, like Remoulade Sauce.
In 1963, the Zatarain family sold the company. It was bought by James Grinstead Viavant. He updated the company's old packaging and made it more modern. He also added a popular fish frying mix called "Fish-Fri" to the Zatarain's brand. This product became a best-seller. Viavant helped Zatarain's become a very well-known brand in the region by the 1970s.
Over the years, Zatarain's has had several owners. In 1984, it was sold to Centra Soya Co. Later, it was bought by Wyndham Foods, Inc., which expanded the brand into boxed food products. They used the term "Cajun" on their boxes to match the popular cooking trend of the 1980s. When that trend changed, they started calling their products "Louisiana-style" or "New Orleans-style."
By the 1990s, Zatarain's sold over 200 different products. They started advertising on national television in 1999. In 1993, McCormick & Company bought Zatarain's.
Zatarain's Products
Zatarain's makes many food items related to Cajun and Creole cuisine. These products fall into five main groups:
- Crab and Shrimp Boils: These are special spice mixes used to cook boiled seafood. They are also used for fun social events called seafood boils. The boil mix usually comes in a mesh bag with spices like mustard seed, coriander seeds, allspice, bay leaf, and black pepper. Zatarain's also has a liquid version that can be added to soups.
- Creole Mustard: This is a common food item in New Orleans. It's a stone-ground brown mustard. People often call it "hot mustard" to show it's different from regular yellow mustard.
- Fish-Fri: This is a seasoned cornmeal mix. It's used to coat fish before frying, giving it a crispy, flavorful crust.
- Ready-to-Serve Dinners: These include popular dishes like gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and black beans and rice. These meals already have cooked beans, rice, and seasonings. You can add meat if you want. They come in two forms: frozen meals you heat in a microwave oven, or packaged mixes where you add water and cook on a stovetop or in a microwave.
- Seasonings: This group includes different spices and mixes. You can find cayenne pepper and even root-beer extract for making your own root beer at home. They also have spice blends similar to those made popular by famous chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse.
See also
