Abingdon: Home of popcorn cornmeal

A recent trip to Abingdon, Virginia yielded a rare food find: POPCORN CORNMEAL.

The assistant miller at the historic White’s Mill just outside town told me the story. During the Civil War, troops from both armies often took local food stores, leaving civilians to fend for themselves. And according to Abingdon oral history, one such incident created the town’s unusual take on traditional cornmeal.

Hungry soldiers sweeping through the area one fall (or winter, depending on the teller), requisitioned all the grinding corn at the mill. Because it was seemingly too hard to grind, the army left sacks of popcorn behind, however. Fearing starvation, the locals decided to try to grind the popcorn and use it for bread.

Members of the White’s Mill Foundation today continue the tradition, grinding and selling popcorn (as well as buckwheat, yellow and white corn and flax seed) on a small electric grinder in a room in the historic mill building.

I couldn’t pass up such a wonderful story, so I bought a sack of the unusual meal for $3, took it home and made it up using my normal recipe. It was different in several ways.

First, I found and removed a potentially tooth-cracking popcorn kernel while measuring the meal.

After baking, the pone was darker, with orange flecks spread throughout the bread.

And the miller and others I talked to about the meal were right, the finished bread was sweeter than traditional cornbread. It even seemed a little crunchier than that made with white or yellow meal.

Built in the 18th century, White’s Mill was placed on the Virginia and National historical registers in 1974. Water-powered milling continued there until 1989. In 2001, the White’s Mill Foundation purchased the property and today offers tours and events and raises funds for a phased restoration of the old structure.

Tags: Abingdon, Civil War, cornmeal, travel, Virginia, White's Mill