Fall of a Southern Icon

It seems the initial fears over the purchase of the White Lily flour company by the J.M. Smucker company were justified. By the end of the month the historic White Lily Mill in Knoxville, Tennessee will shut its doors for good. It seems insane that in a day where the food world is on fire for unique, locally produced foods and ingredients, Smucker would do such a thing. I suppose the fact that soft red winter wheat isn’t much produced in the South anymore has a lot to do with it. The new northern White Lily mills will now be closer to their base of supply. However the thing that you can’t ever replace is the je ne sais quois of a 125-year-old milling process, regardless of how expensive and precise the new machinery might be. The company of course says that they’ll be producing the same great product that White Lily has always been known for. What’s the verdict of the experts? It ain’t good. I fear my biscuits will never be the same again.