White Lily & Southern baking may never be the same (Knoxville: wood floors, house)

[kamoshika]

White Lily is distinctly Southern: it has been milled here in downtown Knoxville since 1883 and its white bags (extra tall because the flour weighs less per cup than other brands) are distributed almost solely in Southern supermarkets, although specialty stores like Williams-Sonoma and Dean & DeLuca have carried it at premium prices.

But at the end of June, the mill, with its shiny wood floors, turquoise and red grinders and jiggling armoire-size sifters, will shut its doors. The J. M. Smucker Company, which bought the brand a year ago, has already begun producing White Lily at two plants in the Midwest, causing ripples of anxiety that Southern biscuits will never be the same.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/di...pagewanted=all

[Beretta]

There was a similar article in the Knoxville paper back in May. So sad. Smucker expects quality to continue despite move North : Food : Knoxville News Sentinel

[jabogitlu]

I heard about it a while back, too. I think it's a shame for Knoxville and a disgrace to Smucker's. I mean, that's not just cutting people out of jobs (which it is, and which is normal), it's almost like disrupting HISTORY.

Sigh.

[JMT]

This made me sick to my stomach. My grandmother, a Georgia Belle from Savannah, used nothing but White Lily to make her biscuits, pie crusts and cornbread. She would be rolling in her grave if she knew that a Yankee company bought White Lily and is moving production to the North.

It speaks volumes about the quality of White Lily that Smuckers is spending so much money just for the brand name.

I can assure you that I will never buy anything with the Smuckers name on it ever again. Bonne Maman makes better jams anyway.

[hiknapster]

That's awful. I hate when the little guy sells or is bought out. Burt's Bees was recently bought by a large company, too.

Is JFG coffee still independent or were they acquired?

On a side note: I can just picture your lovely grandmother, after talking to your genteel mother!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

That's awful. I hate when the little guy sells or is bought out. Burt's Bees was recently bought by a large company, too.

Is JFG coffee still independent or were they acquired?

On a side note: I can just picture your lovely grandmother, after talking to your genteel mother!

NOOOOOO! Not Burt's Bees!!!!! First it was Ben & Jerry's selling out to a big conglomerate. Now this. I don't know about JFG but I sure hope they're still local. I haven't been to the Old City in a while but I used to like going there just to smell the coffee roasting at the JFG plant. I don't drink the stuff, but it sure does smell good.

And thanks for the compliment about my mother! Let me tell you, my grandmother was the quintessential Southern Belle, a regular Steel Magnolia. She never left the house without her hat and long white gloves, she NEVER wore pants even when gardening (and she could grow anything), she kept an immaculate home and could run circles around Emeril in the kitchen, and she definitely ruled the roost--my grandfather could barely keep up with her. Actually, Paula Dean reminds me a lot of my grandmother.

I'll tell my mom that you think she's genteel. I love that! Actually, she's always said that her mother has always been her role model so she'll probably cry when I tell her what you said.

[jabogitlu]

Your grandmother sounds amazing, JMT. I love women like that, and there are only a very few still around.

I too thought that I'd never buy anything again put out by Smuckers. The trick is figuring out exactly WHAT is produced by them. Companies are agglutinating at an alarming pace!

[hiknapster]

Whenever I want to say something negative, I think of your mom and bite my tongue. I swear, I'm a better person for it. You never know how, in a brief conversation, you can touch someone and change their perspective. Tell her how she touched mine, please.

Now...

What the heck is this about Ben & Jerry's. I'm usually up on things, but I just looked it up and they sold out to Unilever in 2000. I completely missed it! Maybe I was giving birth to Lauren. That can be the only excuse.

And here I was, thinking I was buying ice cream from a small business. Honestly, the ice cream tastes the same. That's surprising!

Burt's Bees was sold to Clorox. It happened last fall. Notice how you see Burt's Bees all over the place now? That's why.

Poor Burt. The real story was he was taken advantage of by a woman. Don't tell your mother I sad something negative!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/bu...in&oref=slogin

[jabogitlu]

Burts Bees site says that although it is in the family of Clorox products, its products/production is still the same. As a frequent user, I hope that's the case.

[hiknapster]

Well, getting back to White Lilly, I am not much of a baker, but from the time I moved here, I heard they were the best. Any self-respecting southerner would only buy their flour. It is a SHAME.