Gourmet products and packaging

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We started our baking business using flour from Lindley's Mill, not because it was the least expensive or easiest to find, but because it was the best product available. Customers continually tell us how incredible our cookies taste and we think the quailty of the flour makes a difference. We drive out to the mill and buy our flour direct within days of being milled. The people who work there are wonderful folks and you get a real sense of history just driving out to the place. We know we're getting the freshest product possible and it's just one more thing that helps make our products more than a gift - a true taste experience.

History of Lindley’s Mill

Lindley’s Mill was first built by Thomas Lindley and Hugh Laughlin in the 1750’s at its present location on Cane Creek in southern Alamance County. Cane Creek has provided water power for other grist mills, one of which is Dixon’s Mill at nearby Snow Camp which is the setting of the outdoor drama,” The Sword of Peace”. Thomas Lindley, originally from Pennsylvania, was an early Quaker settler in Cane Creek valley. The mill was the scene of a late revolutionary war battle in 1781 between the North Carolina Whigs and Tories.

The mill has been restored to grind grains the same way it did 2200 years ago. The grinding stones are powered by an overshot waterwheel, 14 ft. in diameter by 5ft. wide – whose slow, steady grinding produce a more nutritional and flavorful product.

When we selected a packing material for our cookies, brownies and biscotti, we wanted to make the best choice for our customers and for the environment. Have you ever wondered what happens to those 'polystyrene' peanuts that come in most packages? Besides clinging to everything and blowing all over the lawn when they spill out of the trash container, they usually end up in landfills and stay there forever. So we decided to choose a better alternative - biodegradable peanuts.

Ours are made of vegetable starch, so they dissipate when wet and have no environmental impact. You can even put them in your compost bin if you like! They provide excellent cushioning for our cookies, and are a great way to save a little space in the landfill. They might cost a penny or two more, but we felt like the small difference we might make for our planet was well worth it. If you work at a company that uses this type of packing material, ask your shipping department to check into biodegradable peanuts. Every little bit helps.

And, have some fun with your next box of packing materials from Anna's Gourmet Goodies. Take a peanut, run it under the faucet and watch it disappear. This has entertained more than one small visitor to our operation!