A while back, I was approached by a board member of the Yates Mill Pond grist mill located at the Historic Yates Mill Pond Park. This mill has been in operation since the 1700s and with its restoration and refit in the 2000s is now once again making corn meal.
What I didn’t realize is that they make enough corn meal to actually sell a bit. Not much, mind you. The mill is operated as part of a historic park so this isn’t a production mill, but an educational mill. However it does produce some excellent corn meal as part of its operation. I guess I really didn’t think about where that corn meal went after it was produced but it turns out a few small operators are given the opportunity to buy from the mill so that the corn meal finds a home on someone’s table.
After multiple efforts, we have become one of those locations and now proudly carry Yates Mill corn meal in our store. This is fantastic because Yates Mill is about 4 minutes from here. My kids have been there countless times as tourists. Now we are bringing a bit of that local history home with us.
The 2 lb bags are $5.00 per bag, which is exactly what you’d pay at the mill itself. We carry both yellow and white corn meals and will keep them in stock for your corn bread needs. I’m sure Lucy will be whipping up some recipe ideas that she’ll post on our new recipe page.
You’ve visited the new recipe page, right?
We are moving all of the old recipes over to the new format. This new format allows you to adjust the recipe for the number of people you are feeding before you print. You can also print out proper recipe cards to make it easier in the kitchen. And you can also submit your own recipes, which we would love to host.
What does unbolted mean? Thanks for the info!
From the interwebs. “Unbolted cornmeal is unsifted, with a “gritty” texture. Sometimes refered to as “old fashioned” cornmeal.”
This is great! I allays seem to miss their open house days. Any idea where the corn comes from? Would be cool if it was local too. Now if you add local popcorn, I may just move in. I’m going to try growing some this year if it doesn’t become a food plot for the deer. The meal is a great addition to the store!
They told me the name of the place where the corn comes from but I’ve completely forgotten. They were very proud of its source but I do remember it wasn’t local. Not a big corn area, NC.