Grown along the Great River Road in St. James Parish, Louisiana,(see the MIssissippi River levee in the background) perique (pronounced pa reek) is a very fine and expensive tobacco used in cigarettes, cigars and in blends for pipe smoking. There is a mineral in the soil in this particular region that makes it the finest crop in the world (called Magnolia soil).
Every year I have wanted to follow this planting from seed to harvest to market. I missed the seed planting this year but finally got some of the young crop in the field. It will be ready for harvest in early July, then fermented for almost a year. That is when the hard work begins, picking, hanging and curing the leaves. I plan to follow through.