Clay County teens tantalize taste buds with BatschStein Salsa

(Photos by Kris Todd) Holding freshly-processed pints of their homemade BatschStein Salsa, business co-founders Tyler Steinkamp, left, and Ethan Batschelet kneel beside new tomato cages protecting plants they recently seeded in a Spencer garden. [Order this photo]

Don't even try to get Tyler Steinkamp and Ethan Batschelet to tell you what the secret ingredient in their salsa is. The two 18-year-old Clay County residents won't disclose the special ingredient that gives their Batschstein Salsa (a combination of their Swiss and German names) its special taste.

When pressed for an answer, Batschelet, who recently finished his junior year at Clay Central/Everly High School, did relay that it's not native to Iowa, which makes it hard to get to grow here.

"But I grew cotton three years ago, so I think we can figure it out," added Steinkamp, a 2008 Spencer High School (SHS) graduate, with a determined smile.

The two young men have been best friends for over 10 years. The notion behind their entrepreneurial enterprise began for Steinkamp when he, as a second grade student, started gardening with some plants located at a neighbor's house. By his third grade year, Steinkamp's passion had grown and he'd established his own garden.

"I've been gardening ever since, just trying new things," said the son of Tom and Cindy Steinkamp, who plans to pursue agronomy and horticulture while enrolled at South Dakota State University this fall.

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Batschelet had a very different start into making salsa. The son of Brian and Tami Batschelet began gardening on their Clay County farm as a seventh grade student.

"I didn't like it at first," he recalled.

"I got him into it," his friend said with a smile.

"Growing up on the farm, I wasn't really given the option of whether or not I wanted to work in the fields. I was forced to, which kind of made me not like it more," Batschelet said. "But, I did get into gardening just because he (Steinkamp) was. I decided to give it a shot one year, and ended up liking it."

Steinkamp's ensuing experimentations with tomato and pepper varieties, coupled with his friend's interest and assistance, resulted in an extra-bountiful harvest of vegetables in 2006. Needing to do something with their excess foodstuffs, the duo's solution was to mix salsa recipes from Luanne Todd, Batschelet's parents, Grandmother Ruth Batschelet and Benita Diaz, a missionary the two befriended during a First Baptist Church mission trip to Mexico.

The BatschStein Salsa recipe distributed and eaten today -- which comes in mild, medium, hot and "super nova" choices -- includes a few of their "own changes."

While Steinkamp readily admits that his mother "likes salsa on stuff, but we as a family are not real big salsa eaters," Batschelet stated he prefers the mild and medium choices.

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"I personally don't like going any spicier than that," he said. "But I think it all tastes really good. The first time we made it, it was alright. We've had people tell us that the taste has improved the more we've made it."

"When we started out," Steinkamp added, "it was really soupy."

"The first time we made it, we had to cut everything by hand. It was bad," groaned a recollective Batschelet.

"Plus, we don't really have to cut the tomatoes anymore. We cut them in half now and stick them into this machine," Steinkamp said of a new vegetable strainer they recently purchased.

After being shooed out of the kitchens of their families and First Baptist Church, the two have relocated to the basement of Batschelet's parents, which has been turned into a kitchen area designed specifically for their salsa making.

"It's eventually going to be moved into their new shed," Steinkamp said. "...But that's more because the smell is just overwhelming for Tami (Batschelet, Ethan's mother)."

The young men, meanwhile, have increased their garden space over the past two years. Besides the plots they have on Steinkamp's backyard and Batschelet's farm, the two planted another garden in Larry and Chris Beck's Spencer backyard two weeks ago. Their reason for taking over the Becks' garden: To reach a lofty goal they've set of filling 500 pint-sized jars with salsa in one day.

The gardens they tend to feature several types of tomatoes, including "Mortgage Lifter" tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, a disease-resistant type of Beefsteak tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes and Celebrity tomatoes. Steinkamp's garden hosts about 400 onions. The green bell peppers and hot peppers at Batschelet's home encompass Habanero, Cayenne, Super Chili, Sweet Banana, Hot Banana, Jalapeno and Serrano varieties.

After selecting and preparing their produce, Batschelet and Steinkamp cook, vacuum-seal and package the salsa. They happily report that the time it takes to make a batch of the sauce has diminished with practice and the implementation of new appliances in their salsa-making repertoire. The two did lawn and garden care around the area this spring to raise money to purchase new tomato cages and more pressure cookers to speed the process up even more.

Both laughed as they remembered the first time a pressure cooker was used to make BatschStein Salsa last year. Steinkamp and Batschelet prepared themselves by reading the manual and receiving advice from several people. As they worked to complete the process in Steinkamp's home late at night, the pressure cooker's scream woke his father up.

"He thought the house was blowing up," Steinkamp chuckled.

Both of the teens also acknowledge that making labels for BatschStein Salsa jars is "a pain." Laughter erupted again as they recalled trying to affix them with tape, which did not work well, before settling on the rubber cement they currently use.

"We have this old, old computer at home that I use for making the labels. It prints out one sheet maybe every minute -- and there's only two labels per sheet. It takes forever. Then we have to paper cut them," Steinkamp explained. "My brother, Ryan Steinkamp, is a big help. He labels a lot of them for us."

"We do need to get our hands on a faster printer," Batschelet added. "But, that's not on the top of our list right now because we have other things we're trying to get first for our kitchen to speed up the process."

Hope-filled outlook regarding future business endeavors

In an attempt to make just over 100 jars of salsa yesterday, Batschelet and Steinkamp spent three hours to set the kitchen up Tuesday night. The making of BatschStein Salsa began at 7 a.m. and concluded early Wednesday evening.

The two, who often carry samples of salsa in their vehicles, have already made and sold over 200 jars this season, which is about how much they made all last summer. Batschelet, who recently opened a BatschStein Salsa jar processed over 18 months ago, found out their salsa's shelf life is respectable.

"I tasted it and it was just fine," he reported. "There was nothing wrong with it."

"Once you open it, though, (it'll only last) about two weeks in the fridge," Steinkamp added. "But, knowing our salsa, it usually doesn't last that long. That's what people have told us, at least. It goes fast."

The two young men, meanwhile, have successfully marketed their spicy, vegetable-packed condiment desired by many through word of mouth. The waiting list for fresh batches of BatschStein Salsa can be attributed to the product they produce, as well as the family, friends, teachers and church members who help to promote and then buy it.

"We've just had such a demand for it that we had to (make it)," Steinkamp said.

"A lot of people are tempted by the fact that it's homemade. They like that," Batschelet added. "It's not all homegrown yet, but eventually it will be. ... There are no preservatives in it. Our salsa is just plain vegetables mixed and cooked the way we like it."

BatschStein Salsa has reached the success point where Batschelet and Steinkamp have had to hire a few employees to assist them with their time-consuming process. Scott McCord serves as the company's taste tester, Steinkamp said, "because we can't handle the hot or super nova." Cody Dailey, BatschStein Salsa's information technology (IT) representative, is responsible for overseeing the company's online Facebook group and e-mail accounts. Jackie Ginger, a jack of all trades, helps with gardening and kitchen work, among other tasks.

In addition to Steinkamp's and Batschelet's initial investments in the company, the execution of their marketing plan -- which included a consignment-type arrangement with SHS's Business Management class this year -- has recently netted a small profit for the pair and their employees.

"Each of us will get 10 percent at the end of the year; and the employees will get 5 percent all together," Steinkamp said. "So, 25 percent will go to BatschStein Salsa workers, and the remaining 75 percent will go back into the company for next year."

While the two recently opened a checking account for their business, BatschStein Salsa logos currently complement everything sent out by company representatives.

Batschelet and Steinkamp are also contemplating coining a trade name, developing a Web page and applying for a business license for their company within the near future. Locating a supplier for regular-mouth, pint-size jars and selling their end product at other outlets are also on the team's list of things to do yet.

"One thing we'd like to do is stay a bit smaller, at least until Ethan and I get through college. Then we can actually buy a greenhouse and some land," Steinkamp forecast. "What's going to really be key is making it through the winter."

"Yeah, we really want to be able to sell it year round," Batschelet said. "If we hold back enough from the summer, then we might be able to sell it year round. But if we tell our favorite customers that we did put some aside, it'll be gone quick because they'll buy it up."

"We have certain customers who will buy an entire box of 12 (pints) for their husbands as birthday or Christmas gifts," Steinkamp revealed.

* To order jars of BatschStein Salsa, contact Steinkamp at (712) 363-2131, Batschelet at (712) 363-2982 or ebatschelet90@hotmail.com. Mass e-mails are sent via the batschstein@gmail.com company e-mail address when new batches of salsa are ready or when special BatschStein Salsa-related events are scheduled.