There was big news for committed localvores at the 6th Annual Grain Growing
Conference in Burlington last week: Vermont-grown white flour soon will be
available at City Market and perhaps elsewhere.
Until now, localvores have had to make do with Vermont whole-wheat flour, which,
no matter its quality, has limited uses in cakes, cookies, pasta and breads.
The state doesn’t produce much wheat and lacks a white-flour mill. But last
year, grain farmer Tom Kenyon successfully grew 30 acres of hard red winter
wheat at Aurora Farms in Charlotte. Randy George of Red Hen Baking Co. in
Middlesex bought the whole lot. Champlain Valley Milling in Westport, N.Y.,
began turning it into 50,000 pounds of white flour.
Red Hen has been using the flour in its crusty Cyrus Pringle bread. George
recently calculated he won’t need all 50,000 pounds before the 2010 wheat crop
is in. So last week he offered to release some of the flour for retail sale.
Photo Caption: Ted Fecteau’s butternut squash ravioli with Parmesan and
chocolate — made with Vermont-grown ingredients — are ready to eat.
Photo Credit: CANDACE PAGE, Free Press
To read the rest of this story please go to:
The Burlington Free Press
