To ensure that you are always buying fresh product, we stamp the side of every bag with a code date. White Lily® products are considered fresh until the date on the bag. For fresher flour and cornmeal, refrigerate or freeze in an airtight container. Allow flour and cornmeal to come to room temperature before use.

Bolted means that the flour is sifted through a fine sieve or screen.

Batters are liquid mixtures of flour, eggs, and milk or water. Breadings are mixtures of dry ingredients, such as cracker crumbs, breadcrumbs, flour, or cornmeal, that are used to coat fish. Usually, fish is dipped into an egg mixture and then into the dry mixture. Batters tend to result in a thicker, breadier coating after the fish is fried. Cornmeal breading is a favorite way to prepare Southern favorites like catfish and crappie.

The best apples for baking are ones that hold their shape and don’t turn to mush when heated. An easy rule of thumb is to think green. Two of the most widely available cooking apples have green skin: Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. Ideal for all kinds of baking, Granny Smith apples have a crisp, tart flavor, and Golden Delicious apples have a more floral taste. Rome Beauty, available in the fall, is a red variety that is also good for baking.

Overripe bananas are great for baking because they have lots of sweet flavor and a soft texture. You can easily keep them on hand in the freezer. Simply take the bananas out of their skins, seal them in a plastic bag, and place in the freezer. They’ll keep for months. Then, whenever you want to make your favorite banana bread, just defrost as many as you need, mash them, and proceed with your recipe.

Cutting dried fruits with a knife is difficult because the fruits are so sticky. We find that kitchen shears come in handy for this task. It’s easier to snip the fruit into uniform pieces because the scissors’ motion helps keep the fruit from sticking. Periodically dip the scissors’ blades in water while snipping the fruit. Bits of dried fruits add lots of flavor to baked goods like muffins and quick breads.

An iron skillet will never wear out, but you need to treat it right by “seasoning” it, which prevents rust and keeps food from sticking. To season iron cookware, rub it inside and out with vegetable oil or shortening, then place it in a 350°F oven. After one hour, remove from the oven and wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. To maintain the finish, clean cast iron using only hot water and a good stiff brush (never harsh detergents), and never wash it in the dishwasher. You may need to re-season it periodically. A well-seasoned skillet is a must for making crisp cornbread.

Sometimes cookies and biscuits over-brown on the bottom because the oven temperature is too high. Try checking your oven calibration with an oven thermometer to verify the temperature. Using dark baking pans, which absorb heat, can also cause over-browning. It’s best to bake cookies, quick breads, and biscuits on shiny pans.

To “cut in” means to distribute small chunks of a solid fat (butter or shortening) into flour before adding the liquid (usually milk or water). To do this, use a pastry blender or two knives in a crisscross cutting motion. This technique is used when baking biscuits or pastries, so they are tender and flaky. When the dough is baked, the fat melts in pockets, which produces the flaky layers. To re-create the flaky biscuits available at fast food restaurants, leave the fat in larger pea-size chunks.

To caramelize onions, brown them slowly in butter or oil over low heat for at least 15 minutes or until they are deep golden-brown in color and have a sweet, nutty flavor. Be careful not to burn them. This process cooks the sugars in the onion until they caramelize. The resulting sweet onions will add new depth and style to many recipes, even traditional Southern cornbread.

Sweet milk is simply fresh milk, not buttermilk. It’s an old-fashioned Southern term commonly used to distinguish between the two in the days before refrigeration, when people churned their own butter and always had buttermilk on hand. Sometimes, it’s preferable to bake using “sweet” milk when there are other strongly flavored ingredients, such as sharp cheddar cheese.

To view more tips about flour safety, click here.

Flour is made from wheat which is an agricultural crop grown outdoors and typically is not treated to kill bacteria. Flour is an ingredient for baked, fried, and cooked products, and these heating processes ensure the safety of flour with proper handling.

Always follow safe food handling practices when you are baking and cooking with flour and other raw ingredients. The CDC outlines the following safe food handling practices when baking and cooking with flour and other raw ingredients:

• Do not taste or eat any raw dough or batter, whether for cookies, tortillas, pizza, biscuits, pancakes, or crafts made with raw flour, such as homemade play dough or holiday ornaments.
• Do not let children play with or eat raw dough, including dough for crafts.
• Bake or cook raw dough and batter, such as cookie dough and cake mix, before eating.
• Follow the recipe or package directions for cooking or baking at the proper temperature and for the specified time.
• Do not make milkshakes with products that contain raw flour, such as cake mix.
• Do not use raw homemade cookie dough in ice cream.
• Cookie dough ice cream sold in stores contains dough that has been treated to kill harmful bacteria.
• Keep raw foods such as flour or eggs separate from ready-to-eat foods. Because flour is a powder, it can spread easily.
• Follow label directions to refrigerate products containing raw dough or eggs until they are cooked.
• Clean up thoroughly after handling flour, eggs, or raw dough.
• Wash your hands with running water and soap after handling flour, raw eggs, or any surfaces they have touched.
• Wash bowls, utensils, countertops, and other surfaces with warm, soapy water.

Additional information about flour and safe handling practices can be found at the following government websites:

• Say No to Raw Dough (https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/no-raw-dough.html)
• Raw Dough’s a Raw Deal and Could Make You Sick (https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/raw-doughs-raw-deal-and-could-make-you-sick)