The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Arrowhead Mills discontinues organic rye (not)

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Arrowhead Mills discontinues organic rye (not)

About two weeks ago I asked Arrowhead Mills about the ash content of a particular flour and commented how much I enjoyed their organic rye.

Today I received an email response stating they don't measure the ash content of any of their flours and that:

"Unfortunately our Rye has been discontinued and we have no more available. We will let our Leadership Team know that you enjoyed it. We continually review our variety to determine the contribution each item makes to our overall product mix. Products are discontinued only after careful review and discussion. We hope you will choose again from our wide variety of products."

This is a real bummer since the only other organic rye available at local stores is Bob's Red Mill dark rye, which I'm not really fond of.

If any of you use Arrowhead Mills organic rye, you may want to get it while there's still some on the shelf.

 

 

 

 

flourgirl51's picture
flourgirl51

Check out www.organicwheatproducts.com  Organic rye flour is available there

baltochef's picture
baltochef

I am using an organic whole rye flour from Lindley Mills in Graham, North Carolina that I get through a local artisan bakery in 20# bags..They do not have a website that I know of..Kind of a word of mouth kind of thing..Their flours are outstanding..Some of what they mill is actually grown in NC..

The mill was established in 1756 and owned and operated through the third quarter of the 20th Century, when the 4th generation of Lindley's sold it..It was subsequently purchased back into the family by the 5th generation of Lindley's and restored to its current working condition..It is, I believe, a stone grist flour mill..There is not much to be found on the net regarding the mill's current operations..It is a small business with fewer that 20 employees..

Calling them to find out if they are selling to a bakery near to you might be something you want to check out..

 

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Is where I live (the snow belt) and the nice thing about Arrowhead is that their flours are stocked locally....until the rye runs out.    No shipping fees - which can run higher than the product in some cases.

Thanks for the suggestion about contacting Lindley.  I just may do that.  

Flourgirl, what are the shipping fees for, i.e. 20# of flour?  I could find no reference to shipping on the website.

flourgirl51's picture
flourgirl51

HI I would need your zip code to determine shipping. You can PM me if you want to. The reason that I don't have a checkout on the site is because I charge actual/cheapest shipping prices for people. If you live in the area where SpeeDee delivery is then I ship that way. In a checkout situation everyone pays the same for shipping even if you are really close and I don't think that is fair to customers.

suave's picture
suave

LindyD, our local co-op carries organic rye for $1.25/lb, it's about 2 hr. drive from the bridge. Frankly I can't believe there isn't a co-op closer to you, somewhere in TC.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

I called the Grain Train (a co-op in Petoskey) - they do have organic rye in bulk - that's good to know since I didn't see it the last time I stopped there.

A bit of Googling and I found that Edson Farms in TC sells organic whole rye flour for .56 cents a pound.  That price might be worth putting up with the traffic in TC....but not until the cherry trees are in bloom.

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

talking about TC and Petoskey.  I grew up near Kalkaska and thought that the TC traffic was pretty scary as a beginning driver.  Having lived since then in places like Pittsburgh, Birmingham, KC and (worst of all from a traffic perspective) Houston, even Cherry Festival traffic doesn't look that bad anymore.

Does the Omelette Shop in TC still make their own bread in-house?

Paul

LindyD's picture
LindyD

The snow should be gone in a few more weeks.  Maybe.   This is our fifth month of snow covered fields and forests.  [deep sigh]

Ah, the Omelette Shoppe - still in the same location on E. Front Street, food as wonderful as ever, and yes, they still make their own bread and other treats.  I had the greatest sourdough pancakes there during my last visit.  

The cherries are fabulous each year, but the Cherry Festival - well, I don't go to TC between Memorial Day and Labor Day.  I'd rather drive in Manhattan.

The National Trout Festival is still on in Kalkaska next month - the big trout statute is still there, and US 131 is still two lanes.  Some things never change in small towns, thank goodness.

Petoskey has grown (Google Bay Harbor), but Harbor Springs hasn't changed and still refuses to allow the construction of any fast food joint within their jurisdiction. 

Come home for a visit!  I've got lots of flour and a good oven. And the moral mushroom season is coming up...  

pmccool's picture
pmccool

but they keep sending my paycheck here.

I've been following my uncle's maple syrup activities (he's 92) on FB.  It sounds fairly typical; too cold one day, just right the next, and too warm the day after.  And then more snow.

That means it won't be too long before the smelt start running, and not long after that it will be trout season and yes!, morels will be ready for picking.  (sighs wistfully)

Here in the KC area, the daffodils, forsythia, Bradford pears and star magnolia are in bloom.  Crab apples, dogwood, redbud and lilacs should be joining the parade soon.  I've already had to mow the yard.   Guess I'll have to keep a closer eye on my sourdough, what with temperatures warming up.

Paul

maurdel's picture
maurdel

I don't understand why this company would do this. I was under the impression that they supply the bulk section at my Whole Foods (I could be wrong about this, but I know that our store used them at one time). They always have "Organic Rye" in our bulk sxn.

It sure seems like things are going to become less and less conveniently available. I'm starting to feel like a survivalist having to stock up on basics like flour-  storing huge bags and paying ridiculous shipping costs.

Ever since Arrowhead became part of that conglomerate that owns Spectrum and Celestial Seasonings and a bunch of other labels, it looks to me that they are changing things.

 I'm guessing Arrowhead just buys & mills the Rye, perhaps not even grown in the USA. They may be having trouble finding & buying it themselves.

 

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

I received an e-mail from Trader Joe's saying they were going to discontinue carrying KA Flours.  Fortunately it is carried in many local stores...Trader Joe's was always the best price!

Sylvia

baltochef's picture
baltochef

Here on the East Coast co-ops are not all that popular..The average American simply does not want to have to work (ie. give a specific amount of their time each month to the operating needs of the co-op) in order to reap the priviledges of belonging to one..

I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that as far as purchasing grains / flours / dry baking goods for mine, and other poeple's, personal baking needs; that the most intelligent, and most cost effective means of doing so is to form some sort of cooperative buying organization..

As someone that knows that organic grains / flours are far superior to non-organic ones, I also know that purchasing them in any location that is not close to the source of where they are elevatored, and or milled, can be quite expensive..

I live in Maryland, and there are several mills, both steel and stone, within 500 miles that grind and produce organic flours..The only way to get a good price for the berries or the ground flours is to order them by the pallet..A standard wooden pallet that is lifted by a forklift holds forty 50# bags for a total of 2000#, or 1 ton..This is usually the minimum amount, sometimes it is 1000#, that a mill will consider delivering..

The artisan bakery that I purchase the whole rye flour from usually gets from between 11-15 pallets of flour delivered at one time..I have not yet explored the possibility of doing so, but I think it might be possible to piggyback a single pallet, perhaps as many as 2 pallets, onto this bakery's semi-tractor trailor truck flour delivery..The logistics of doing so would require the cooperation of at least 3-4 people, in addition to pre-paying for the flour / berries in advance..

For those of us that are serious bakers, and that want to purchase whole grains and milled flours at reasonable prices, this is probably going to be the way we purchase our whole grains and milled flours in the future..That is to say that we are going to have to consider dedicating some serious storage space in our homes / garages / basements to stock piling said grains / flours in some sort of rodent proof containers..And, cooperatively purchasing said grains and flours in bulk quantities..

Home baking in the United States is a marginalized activity, with bread baking being the most marginalized form of baking that there is..Most people can understand why humans want to bake a dessert from scratch, but truly fail to grasp why people would want to waste their time baking their own bread..As a result of this prevailing attitude, those companies that do offer grains and flours for sale to the general public at retail prices in small quantities are only going to stock and carry those products that they can make a good profit on..Sadly, rye flours and berries are not that good of sellers..

Unfortunately, I see the small scale grain millers becoming even more marginalized as time goes on..The only way to keep these local businesses afloat financialy is to purchase their goods..I would much rather support a small grain mill east of the Mississippi river, than to purchase from Bob's Red Mill, even though Bob's Red Mill has exellent products..

Bruce

maurdel's picture
maurdel

This is the only way we are going to have access to high quality products. It is going to become a full time job just to get those things we need at a fairly reasonable price. I have the feeling everything, particularly food of a certain quality, is going to become even more expensive in the near future.

Wish I was on the east coast, I'd sign up for your co-op. Though as I said it is becoming a job.... "Head of Acquisitions and Supplies". Fortunately many Americans are out of work so we can spend most our time doing this.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Here's the response, verbatim:

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Organic Baking Flour Blend. We apologize for the delay in our reply and appreciate your patience. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and we appreciate your patronage.

Ash content is not something that we measure for in our flours at this time.

Unfortunately our Rye has been discontinued and we have no more available. We will let our Leadership Team know that you enjoyed it. We continually review our variety to determine the contribution each item makes to our overall product mix. Products are discontinued only after careful review and discussion. We hope you will choose again from our wide variety of products.

Thank you for your continued support. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM - 5PM Mountain Time.

Sincerely,

Pamela

Consumer Relations Representative

 

 

 

 

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Today I received a new E-mail, this one from James:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Rye Flour. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and appreciate your patronage.

This product is still available and has not been discontinued.  Arrowhead Mills manufactures a large variety of products which we sell to distributors. Store managers then select which items to purchase from their distributors, and to offer in their stores. Health and natural food stores typically carry the broadest selection. If a specific product is not available, a store manager may be willing to order it for you.

Consumers may also order our products from the on-line store on our web page at www.arrowheadmills.com.

Thank you for your continued support of The Hain Celestial Group. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM - 5PM Mountain Time.

James, Consumer Response Representative

Odd, as I've not been in any further contact with them.

Confusion?  Change of heart?   Was the "Leadership Team" demoted?  As the mill turns...

maurdel's picture
maurdel

As I said before, ever since Hain acquired all these other companies such as Arrowhead, Celestial etc..... there does seem to be confusion. I remember contacting them a while back about a Hain product that was becoming more difficult to find and I was told that it,  the Safflower Mayonnaise, would no longer be available... it is still at my Whole Foods almost 1 year later (though in a  different jar)??? 

I don't think they have a handle on managing all their lines. It looks like you got a response from Hain central and it was then passed on to Arrowhead who have more info and know about the specific products.

Your original response WAS a bit startling. Though I noticed that person referred to some "baking blend", I think they were confused.

maurdel's picture
maurdel

Since this topic popped up again and I just got back from looking over the flours at my Whole Foods, I am reporting that there is still Organic Rye on the shelf in small bags. Though the price seems higher than I remember, 2.90$ for a 24oz. bag.  Oddly enough I can buy Org. Rye in the bulk sxn for 99¢.

  I have asked about some flour in the bulk sxn before, and was told that it was in fact Arrowhead Mills brand. I was not asking about Rye at that time (though I can't remember which flour I was asking about).

Given that it is May 2010 do you thing they will in fact discontinue selling organic Rye?

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Hi Maurdel,

If you check the thread, you'll see that on March 25, 2009, I had posted another response from Arrowhead stating that they were not discontinuing the rye.

I've not had any problems obtaining it through my local health food store, which is good as I do like their rye.

maurdel's picture
maurdel

Woops, I guess skimming is not sufficient. Thanks LindyD.

I guess I saw this thread pop up and I had just been to the store.

Good to know it will stay on the shelf.  Do you think the price has risen?  It seems to me that it used to be cheaper than their Barley flour which I also regularly buy.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Hi Maurdel,

I checked the bag of AM rye in my fridge, but there was no price.  I think it was around $3.25-$3.75 for the 30 ounces

I can buy it for $2.51 on the Internet, but the shipping fee is more than the flour, as is all too often the case.

Barbarat's picture
Barbarat

whoever has an Amish Bulk store somewhere close check them out. on the East coast Dutch Valley is their supplier. check out <Dutch Valley .com> to see what they carry. Just got 50lb KA flour @ -.47/lb. Our local Food Lion (NC) also does not carry KA flour anymore (which would be too expensive anyway).