Anson Mills Grains
PENCIL COB GRITS
Pencil Cob Grits come from Pencil Cob corn, so named for its very narrow cob. In the Colonial South, milling became part of the daily food chores on the frontier, and a small, round, horizontal, hand-driven stone mill called a quern mill was the tool of choice for these grits. Anson Mills adheres to tradition and quern-mills these grits by hand to demonstrate why this unusual corn survived into the 21st century. Pencil Cob grits may say "corn" in aroma and flavor more boldly than any other grits.
CAROLINA GOLD RICE
This is the grand matriarch of long-grain rice in the Americas. Carolina Gold is delicate, non-aromatic rice with Forrest Gump-like starch properties that allow it to appear everywhere — fluffy, individual grains; creamy risotto; sticky Asian-style rice — depending on how it is cooked. This rice has a clean, sweet flavor and mouthfeel superior to modern long-grain rice.
Pencil Cob Grits on the left; Carolina Gold Rice on the right. But, you know, you can arrange them however you’d like.
HANDMADE TOASTED STONE-CUT OATS
Fresh and loaded with natural oils, these oats are so moist they must first be toasted in order to be hulled. Toasting produces a spicy caramel flavor to accompany the light, clean fresh oat flavor; it also reduces cooking time. They're stone cut on the bias to retain some of the original coarse kernel texture and whole germ flavor.
APPALACHIAN HEIRLOOM SWEET FLINT POPCORN
This small, delicate Appalachian heirloom flint corn leaves impressions of sweet corn and honeysuckle rising after it pops, with a final palate statement of pure sweetness. This is the last corn Anson Mills plants and the last one they harvest, reflecting the seasonal farming rhythms that were practiced by Native Americans before settlers arrived and by Appalachian frontier farmers during our colonial era.
Toasted Stone-Cut Oats on the left; Heirloom Sweet Flint Popcorn on the right; and next to them, just out of frame, is a kangaroo named Jimmy.
RUSTIC POLENTA INTEGRALE
Milled from an Italian heirloom red trentino flint that was, until recently, nearly extinct even in Italy, Anson Mills Rustic Polenta Integrale shows bright flecks of crimson bran, and features pronounced mineral components along with a lingering sweetness on the palate.
Rustic Polenta Integrale — which might be a good name for an album or a novel. Or a dog, maybe, if he or she is in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show: “And the winner of the Hound Group: Rustic Polenta Integrale, a gorgeous smooth-haired dachshund.”