In Gear: Flour Sack Kitchen Towels (An Old-Fashioned Staple for Modern Kitchens)
There was a time when dry goods like flour, rice and chicken feed were sold almost exclusively in sturdy, tightly woven cotton sacks. Enterprising (or frugal) consumers often reused sacks in their original forms for storage, carrying goods, as hand-stuffed pillows, and more. It was so popular to make clothing and linens from the bag's fabric from that some producers even printed them with decorative floral patterns.
Though actual flour sacks are difficult to come by these days (save for a few small-scale producers, like the Nora Mill Granary of Helen, Georgia) "flour sack" kitchen towels, made out of roughly the same material, are commonly available, inexpensive, and well-suited to a multitude of household applications.
The bags generally have immense dimensions; most that I’ve encountered have measured at least 2 1/2 square feet. The absorbent towels are excellent for mopping up spills and drying dishes, which they leave virtually lint-free, and because they are so thin, the towels dry quickly.
Since they are un-dyed, tightly woven, and lacking in lint, they are also a better choice than other common kitchen towels for covering resting bread doughs or delicate sheets of pastry and pasta dough. They even work well as flour-clinging, moisture-wicking liners for baking breads in baskets and on stones.
In their out-of-the-package state, they also make a fine, durable substitute for cheesecloth, act as casual (easily bleached) table napkins, or can be used as bibs for lobster bakes and such. Decorated with embroidery or stamped with fabric-fast paints or inks, they make attractive hostess gifts, window valances, basket liners, and more. And with some simple sewing, the towels can be easily turned into pocketed rolls for safely storing silverware, crafty table cloths, or washable dust covers for small kitchen appliances.
About the author: Amanda Clarke is a recovering restaurant pastry chef with a background in architecture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes, tests, and develops recipes and works on freelance food-styling gigs between walkings and feedings of her two dogs and husband.
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21 Comments:
Vermont Country store also sells them...
amyatkendall at 4:27PM on 07/24/08
I can definitely vouch for and recommend flour sack kitchen towels. They're the stuff of a bygone era, used by my mom and grandmothers, and definitely a rare treasure if found today. When I had my first little apartment in college, my mom presented me with a stack of them. I only have one left. :( The cloths are indispensable when hand-washing and drying delicate glassware. They are also great for dusting due to the lint-free characteristic that was alluded to.
Thanks Amanda and amyatkendall for the links. It's about time I replenished my towels.
holdthemayo at 4:57PM on 07/24/08
Thanks, Amanda. I hope everyone will excuse a short aside not about food, but about flour sacks. My dad was a scholarship day student at a prep school in Pennsylvania in the 30's. During a game, a player from another school pulled down my dad's soccer shorts 'accidentally'. A foul was called but not before the opposing team saw Gold Medal across my dad's butt. They began to heckle. A small riot ensued. Up until his death a few friends called him "Old Cotton Bottom".
Blue Iris at 5:27PM on 07/24/08
Thanks for sharing, Blue Iris! :oD
Amanda Clarke at 5:34PM on 07/24/08
If a lady was dressed poorly, she was said to be wearing a flour sack.
Great story Blue Iris and fun read Amanda. I might just have to get some for nostalgia's sake and because they're really practical - like always!
PerkyMac at 5:44PM on 07/24/08
Thanks, Amanda. I hope everyone will excuse a short aside not about food, but about flour sacks. My dad, a steel worker's son, went to prep school in the early 30's as a day student on scholarship. During a league soccer game, my dad's shorts got pulled down 'accidentally'. A foul was called but not before the opposing team saw 'Gold Medal' across his rear end. Teasing began, the teams took sides and a small riot ensued. My dad's nickname became "Old Cotton Bottom".
Blue Iris at 5:47PM on 07/24/08
Sorry, guys. Double post. Can you delete one, dear SE team? Thanks.
Blue Iris at 5:50PM on 07/24/08
Coincidentally, today I was helping a friend clean out an old building he recently purchased, and we came across several bundles of genuine old flour sacks. (the building used to house a radio/tv repair shop, but the one next door used to be a bakery)
I agree that they would make great kitchen towels!
srhcb at 6:33PM on 07/24/08
I love flour sacks! I use them for cleaning/drying, but mostly for baking, they are great for drying rinsed veggies; covering rising dough, or freshly baked bread.
Also since they're so big they're great for drying off, and wrapping up, small wet dogs! (not the same ones I use in the kitchen of course!)
bobcatsteph3 at 6:53PM on 07/24/08
bob,
What do you use dogs for in the kitchen?
srhcb at 8:16PM on 07/24/08
We probably have about 50 embroidered flour sack towels packed up for when I eventually get married. My grandmother made most of them. They're wonderful towels, and about half of our kitchen towels are flour sack.
Our pastry cloth is also flour sack, as my grandmother likes the texture it leaves on pie crusts.
amanda0730 at 11:55PM on 07/24/08
Oooh! I love those towels and that material!
Need some myself as mine have all passed on...:(
I would give an arm to have enough to use as pastry cloth! Must find some...
I remember reading a story about a wife far from a town asking her hubby to get the flour in the pretty bags so she could use the fabric, and the tongue lashing he got for buying plain!
Thanks for the links! I can usually find them in Amish country too (Northern IN for me).
sadiepix at 4:24AM on 07/25/08
I love my Williams-Sonoma ones!
daveandcat at 9:26AM on 07/25/08
I love my flour sack towels. They are fabulous in drying, as in the post since they don't leave any lint and are quick drying. I have noticed though that my towels have have holes in them. They are probably ready for replacement, but I will porbably keep on using. Sur La Table has them in great retro prints as well plain.
pequenalooloo at 12:18PM on 07/25/08
I recently bought flour sack towels at Sams. They were on the aisle that has the comnmerical and catering cooking supplies. I believe there were 12 in a pack and they were very reasonable and quite large.
kit4us at 10:11AM on 07/28/08
My great grandmother and mother used flour sack towels on the Thanksgiving turkey. I guess they opted for ones past their prime, but they were just much more common back in the day (I guess this is the Way Day - LOL). My mom would cut or tear one if half, and, after having oiled up the turkey breast, lay the towel on top and then put more oil on that. The towel would come off the last 45 minutes or so. The turkey was always moist, golden and perfect like this. Cheesecloth simply does not do the same job. So save those old flour sack towels for this last duty before you toss them!
Tobey at 10:36AM on 07/28/08
Hello! I've been using Jumbo Jenny kitchen towels for years. I got them at Williams-Sonoma and didn't realize they were flour sack towels. All I knew was that I didn't want to ever use anything else for drying dishes in my kitchen! And I still don't want to use anything else. I've even used them as a bandana on my head in the summer. In looking at the Williams-Sonoma online catalogue, it doesn't indicate the brand, and it says, "...inspired by the towels made from flour sacks once used across America, these are woven from 100% cotton". But looking up Jumbo Jenny itseld, it does state that they are flour sack towels. So I guess I've been using them for a long time, but didn't know what they were! Love them.
harriet at 5:46PM on 07/28/08
@Tobey: Thank you! I'm so looking forward to trying out your mother's turkey technique.
Amanda Clarke at 9:14AM on 07/29/08
From the time my mother was very young, she and my grandmother would embroider flour sack towels for when she got married and would store them away in her cedar hope chest. Many years later, when I was about 10, she was going to throw the towels away because the they were threadbare and stained from years of use. I begged to keep the towels and Mom relented. When she passed away two years later, my father and grandparents gave her hope chest to me. Several decades passed and when I married, I looked in the chest and found the towels tucked in amongst her quilts and embroidered "company" pilowcases. Today, I use the towels to simply hang on the oven handle and look pretty and "homey" and remind me of my wonderful mother and grandmother.
skyeyes at 9:50AM on 07/29/08
I use flour sack towels, but only for baking and cooking apps, never tried drying glasses or dishes with them. I love them though for straining yogurt and the like, much more practical than cheesecloth.
huneybumper at 11:20AM on 08/14/08
My girlfriend buys these in bulk from crafting stores and embroiders them for gifts. I received the "Happy Kitchenware" pattern, featuring dancing plates and cuddling spoons. She also found a pattern called "Tropical Babies". It's wonderfully/horrifically un-PC.
wheatfoot at 3:49PM on 10/07/09