Technically, the video is not making "a Perique", but more accurately, it is called a "carotte" (French)
The following was copied from;
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/manufacturing/929973-carottes_à_râper.html
Many of the links are irrelevant, so I can justify saving the information here as a type of archive for this information.
Explanation:
Most of the following is historical, so may not apply today. Don't know what the snuff market (nasal tobacco, as opposed to the American usage of "snuff" to mean chewing tobacco) is like these days. Note the Dunhill reference.
La carotte est tronçonnée en bouts égaux qu'on lie par torsion et, comprimée très fortement en moule après un sauçage, elle se présente comme un bâton aggloméré, pesant près de 2kg.
[Quid]
There are many terms used in the journals to refer to the proc-
essed tobacco utilized by the Corps of Discovery: twist, roll or spun, ***carrot***, brace of tobacco, etc. It is not always
clear which term is correct as separate journal entries for the same day may use different terms. We can docu-
ment that 130 rolls of pigtail tobacco at 63 lbs., 5 carrots of tobacco (3 lbs.each), & 136 lbs. of tobacco (form un-
known), were purchased by the Expedition before reaching the Mandan & Hidatsa Villages. Quantities were
much more than this, however, as the Fort Mandan Miscellany lists 176 ****carrots*** of tobacco (about 500 lbs.) under
Indian Presents (Moulton,Vol.3, p.502). Clark also mentions giving each man about two feet of tobacco off a part
of a roll from a cache they dug up on July 8, 1806
…
A third type of trade tobacco, ***Carrot tobacco***, was a tight bundle of leaves thick in the mid-
dle and tapering to both ends. It was rolled up in linen & afterward wrapped with a cord-
line & then covered with canvas for shipping. Common sizes of carrot tobacco were one-
pound, 1 and a half pound, & 3-pounds
[www.corpsofdiscovery.org/ Newletters%20Honor%20Guard/Journal%20-%20June%202004.pdf]
A tightly rolled, twisted bundle of tobacco leaves (Nicotiana tabacum), called a ***carrot***, was convenient for ***chewers***
[
http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?Artic...]
Voyageurs wore a short shirt, red woolen cap or a tuque, a pair of deerskin leggings, deerskin
moccasins, and a colorful sash for decoration and support when lifting heavy packs. Often they
smoked a pipe and carried a beaded bag or pouch, hung from their sash to store tobacco or
other items. Their equipment, other than the canoe and paddles, consisted of a blanket, a shirt,
a pair of trousers, two handkerchiefs, and several pounds of ***carrot tobacco***—a plug of tobacco
twisted into a carrot shape
[www.friends-bwca.org/pdfs/Unit4LessonPlan.pdf]
Rope tobacco was tightly twisted, connected, and placed onto spools for curing. Then, the rope was cut into shorter sections, refereed to as a ***carotte***, which was ground by a rasp for snuff, or broken into small sections for smoking in clay pipes. The remaining tobacco was sorted and stripped of its veins and stems.
[
http://www.sheffieldexchange.com/nasal.htm]
The Seventeenth century Snuffer, bought his Snuff, in a partially-manufactured state, in the form of a solid roll of hard tobacco a few inches long. Descriptively called a ***"Carotte"***. When he wanted to produce some Snuff, the carotte was rubbed against a grater or tobacco rasp. The collected gratings were fine tobacco powder known as snuff.
[
http://www.ramshornstudio.com/tobacco_boxes.htm]
DUNHILL French ***Carotte*** Special Snuff $54. ...
www.rubylane.com/shops/molotov/ ilist/,cs=Collectibles:Tobacciana,id=2.49.html
En France, la "carotte" est l'enseigne des bureaux de tabac. ...
formation.tabacologie.globalink.org/ rmolimard200006/cours.htm
SO THAT'S WHAT IT IS - INTERESTING!!!!!!