As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, many Americans are thinking about upcoming holiday feasts and shopping for seasonal gifts. The Friday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is America's unofficial shopping holiday, but it's mostly the big box stores who benefit from Black Friday's boost to the economy. Patronizing small and family-owned businesses as much as possible during the holidays—and year-round, can make a big difference for small business owners. Small Business Saturday is a great time to intentionally shop for goods and services that help the local and independently-owned businesses who are a vital part of our country.
On Small Business Saturday (November 26th) we invite you to check out our online store and help us continue to carry on the legacy of milling high-quality organic flour that our ancestors started back in 1755. Lindley Mills’ flour, grits, and muffin mix make wonderful gifts for the bakers in your life, and are a nutritious and satisfying option for your holiday table. Thank you for supporting our family-owned business!
Lindley Mills has been milling organic corn in an area of the country affectionately nicknamed the “Grits Belt” since colonial times, so it’s no surprise that we’re serious about the craft and tradition that goes into making our grits. Aside from flour, grits are the kind of food we’d be happy to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—every single day, which is why we’re so particular about the difference between just ‘good’ and our outstanding grits.
This holiday season we are offering a limited-edition batch of our famous 100% Organic Old-Fashioned Stoneground Yellow Corn Grits! For more than 35 years, we have been milling these coarsely-ground grits for chefs who want a taste of a true southern ingredient in their creations. We are finally able to offer our grits in 2 lb. packages, shipped directly to your door through our e-commerce business.
Ordering: How it works
Place your online order for Lindley Mills’ Old-Fashioned Stoneground Yellow Corn Grits prior to midnight on Wednesday, November 16th, 2016. On Thursday and Friday November 17th and 18th, we will be packing and shipping out all of the orders for delivery just in time to arrive for Thanksgiving or a hearty breakfast before your Black Friday shopping spree.
Any orders we receive between November 17th and December 18th will be packaged and shipped early the week of December 19th so they can arrive in time to be given as a gift or eaten as a treat on Christmas morning.
We talk a lot about using "quality" wheat in our flours, but how do we ensure the best possible organic products reach our customers?
It is the Miller’s job to transform the dormant wheat seed into flour so that it can be used by bakers and cooks to its full potential. Part of the craft includes knowing about different types of flour and how they will perform for the baker. Our Miller and President, Joe Lindley, has decades of experience listening to bakers and making flour that will help them bake more flavorful, nutritious, and consistent breads. Today, we are tackling protein, which is a common “measuring stick” for wheat. We will explain how the type and quality of protein in your flour can influence the bread you create.
This week, we have been sharing a series of blogs posts to commemorate the 235th anniversary of the Battle of Lindley’s mill, a Revolutionary War battle that happened on the same ground where our mill stands today. Learn more about the significance of the battle and see the entire series of articles on our blog, here. Today we would like to wrap up our week of reflection by sharing our thoughts on the traditions and values we’ve learned from our ancestors.
Tradition and values are an important part of the way we live our lives and the lens through which we do business. As we think about the products we’re providing to our friends and neighbors, we believe our ancestors would be proud of how we have continued milling with the traditions and values of their time. Our milling standard is high, but it’s simple. And it’s the same principle on which Lindley’s Mill was founded in 1755: We only produce high-quality milled products that we would want to eat, ourselves. The standards of quality are a blend of tradition, technology, and cutting-edge innovation. It’s the core of what we value, but here are other things we value, too.
This past Tuesday marked the 235th anniversary of the Battle of Lindley’s Mill, and we’re honoring this important moment in our collective history all week long. Read our blog on the Battle of Lindley’s Mill here, and be sure to check back with us to continue reading more in this series. Today we will go back to the early 1700s, where the first settlers began building the foundation for a thriving community around what we still know today as Lindley’s Mill.
Agricultural Roots
The deepest of our agricultural roots here in Alamance County reach back to the small Native American villages. The native people of the Haw River (the Sissipihaw) lived bountifully off the land in the North Carolina Piedmont through hunting, fishing and farming for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived.
When the first Europeans began to settle the area, they established family farms in the hilly and fertile soil of the region. Many Quakers of English and Irish descent, like our own Thomas Lindley, settled around the Cane Creek area near what is now called Snow Camp. These early settlers had to meet their basic needs of food, water, and shelter. They grew wheat, corn, oats, and rye successfully and soon gristmills popped up along Cane Creek in order to make flour to feed the community. Both the Haw River and Cane Creek were crucial to the agricultural (and later on) the textile industries of our region--both as a source of drinking water as well as a source of hydropower for the mills.
This week marks the 235th anniversary of the Battle of Lindley’s Mill, a story that captures the complex political climate brewing in North Carolina just before the official end of the American Revolution in 1781. The Battle at Lindley’s Mill, one of the bloodiest per capita of the Revolutionary War in North Carolina, reminds us of the sacrifices made for the liberties we enjoy today.
Aside from oral history, and the stories in the history books, the historical markers on the battlefield and a short distance away at the Spring Friends Quaker Meeting House are all that's left to commemorate the conflict. They read as follows: “On these grounds revolutionaries and loyalists were buried together in mass graves by people of this neighborhood who also cared for the wounded in their homes.” We continue to remember their courage and to tell the story so that current and future generations will know and be able to carry forward their legacies of liberty and compassion.
Look out for the rest of the posts in our series later on this week to take a step back in time with us as we remember our ties to the Revolutionary War.
Almost every American, young or old, has heard of Graham crackers. Many associate this staple food with warm memories of making s’mores around a campfire, or at home watching the marshmallow puff, brown, and melt through the window of a microwave oven. Yet, few Americans have ever heard of Graham flour or its inventor and namesake, Sylvester Graham (1794-1851).
Graham strongly believed that bread should be homemade, whole grain, and coarsely ground. He rallied for his cause by giving lectures and publishing articles on the Graham System for Living. Like every revolutionary thinker, he met resistance in his own time, but was generations ahead of society. The Graham System eschewed overly processed food, and advocated moderation in all areas of daily life, a familiar refrain for those “plugged-in” to discussions on food today. In many ways, today’s food revolution—which is inspired by contemporaries like Michael Pollan—whose message about how over processed and unwholesome foods are hurting us, was really started more than 100 years ago by Sylvester Graham.