Why Most of America Is Terrible at Making Biscuits

[JSngry]

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/11/better-biscuits-south-thanksgiving/576526/

All I can say is, I'll be damned, I had no idea. But I knew it had to be something...

[Matthew]

Sometimes what seems easiest is the hardest, eg., no matter how hard I try, I make a totally crappy pot roast! I'm hopeless at it, and I know people who can't boil an egg, and they make a better pot roast that I do.

[JSngry]

Are you using California cows?

[GA Russell]

Jim, the author only hints at the end of her piece of a major issue.

Southern wheat spoils relatively quickly.  Or to look at it from the other direction, northern wheat has a longer shelf life.  Today that means nothing.  But 200 years ago it meant everything.  It was pointless to ship the southern wheat up north because it would go bad before it could be used.

Today we are capable of transporting and enjoying southern wheat throughout the country, but the Yankees don't know better!

By the way, how's the poutine in Texas?

[clifford_thornton]

Luckily, our cat more than makes up for others' challenges in this area.

[Brad]

My late Mother made the best and lightest biscuits and she was no Southerner but hailed from the East, the East side of Manhattan that is.  Wherever we lived — the US, South America, the Caribbean or Spain, they came out just fine.  

[lipi]

38 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

Southern wheat spoils relatively quickly.  Or to look at it from the other direction, northern wheat has a longer shelf life.  Today that means nothing.  But 200 years ago it meant everything.  It was pointless to ship the southern wheat up north because it would go bad before it could be used.

Do you have a source on this?

[GA Russell]

lipi, I read that many years ago when I lived in Atlanta, very likely in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution.

[sonnymax]

7 hours ago, GA Russell said:

Southern wheat spoils relatively quickly.  Or to look at it from the other direction, northern wheat has a longer shelf life.

I think it's more likely that wheat used to spoil more quickly in the South than it did in the North. Think "hotter and more humid" versus "cooler and drier".

[JSngry]

10 hours ago, GA Russell said:

By the way, how's the poutine in Texas?

Non-existent?

Still looking for some, though. It sounds like one of those things that is either going to be scrumptious or disgusting. My kind of adventure!

[JSngry]

3 hours ago, sonnymax said:

I think it's more likely that wheat used to spoil more quickly in the South than it did in the North. Think "hotter and more humid" versus "cooler and drier".

Hmmmm....the article clearly differentiates between "hard" wheat and "soft": wheat, the latter having a lower gluten content. I'd think that a different chemical balance would affect spoilage at least just as much as climate.

There's a series (or something) on PBS about farmers in the Southeast actively trying to preserve/re-popularize heirloom/regional food varieties, including grains, It's a fascinating topic, imo, because I totally get that anything coming out of the dirt can return that dirt back in the flavor. Today's mass-produced foods have no real choice but to default to a generic taste, which in turn affects how we season our cooking.

The people who are actively engaged in the struggle to maintain the older seed/grains are doing noble work. Plants are like animals in that extinction is a possibility. Peas, beans, rices, wheats, most of us just but whatever is on the shelf not thinking about how they got there and what other possibilities exist. It's eye-opening, or it was for me, to hear about all that's going on.

As for pot roast - my mom always insisted that you have to coat it with a little seasoned flour, brown in on all sides over fairly high heat, then slow cook the fuck out of it (she'd get it going by 8 and have it ready for noon). Both hers and my wife's pot roasts always came/come out tender and juicy. And they always use a chuck roast. It's got more fat which contributes to the juiciness as it cooks.

[JSngry]

Ok, White Lilly flour - found it at Kroger today. Duly noted.

[JSngry]

An example of a grain/seed saved from (almost) extinction: https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/05/carolina-gold-heirloom-rice-anson-mills.html

[Dave Garrett]

4 hours ago, JSngry said:

Ok, White Lilly flour - found it at Kroger today. Duly noted.

I was wondering why I'd never heard of White Lily before, then saw the bit in the article claiming that "Dallas and Houston both lack any vendors". Looks like White Lily's store locator info on their website may not be 100% accurate (I tried searching at the broadest setting of within 100 miles, and struck out). At any rate, my grandmother and many other relatives in rural East Texas never had any problem baking damn fine biscuits, White Lily or not.