There I stood smack in the middle of Thomas Street, shouting joyfully “You didn’t, you didn’t get me a bag of White Lily? OMG, really? WHERE did you find it?”
Who knew a 5-pound bag of soft red winter wheat flour could cause such a stir? Surely not the half-dozen tourists ambling along the sidewalk, morning coffee in hand as they stopped to watch the locals-sure-are-weird thing going on that December morning right before Christmas.
I mean, what’s odd about a car parked half-in-half-out of the street, doors open, tailgate up, and three “vintage” women dancing around a bag of all-purpose flour? That’s just Monday in Key West.
But this was White Lily flour, which since 1883 has been the gold standard for Southern cooks who win prizes for biscuits and pastries. It’s milled from 100 percent soft red winter wheat, which has much lower gluten and protein than the hard red wheat found in most other brands. That, in turn, means White Lily makes lighter, flakier pie crusts and biscuits in places where hot and humid spell disaster for delicate baked goods.
Ubiquitous on grocery shelves in Southern states, it’s hard to find north of the Mason-Dixon line and south of, oh, say, Tallahassee, so I’ve taken to schlepping 10-pound bags home in Ranger Ed’s backpack when we make a trip to Atlanta.
That’s way more than you’ll ever want to know about flour. And if you’re wondering what White Lily flour has to do with Key West in 2026, let me explain. I’m on a quest to make good biscuits. The kind my mother-in-law threw together effortlessly every morning with nary a measuring cup. Tall, light, flaky, layered. Steam escaping with a puff as you swipe on the butter. Not a hockey puck in a batch.
I’ve failed. Miserably most times, but there was that ONE time. So I keep trying though the lessons haven’t been easy ones.
Key West 2026 | 4 lessons from making biscuits
Persevere. That’s the first lesson for 2026. Key West, not alone among tourist-destination towns, faces the worst threat to its economy since 2008, according to long-term projections. Despite the seasonal re-entry of thousands of visitors and snowbirds, there’s no denying there are fewer of them. Hit by high prices, Americans are staying closer to home and international travelers are choosing to spend their vacation cash anywhere but the United States. Some of us are gleeful, but those who persevere will find ways to revitalize our island’s economy.
Sift the ingredients. Any decent baker will tell you that even if the flour bag says it’s pre-sifted, you’ve got to do it again. You’ve got to shake loose the clumps and whisk together such odd fellows as salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Now you’ve got to add butter and milk, neither of which inherently plays nicely with those dry ingredients. But success comes from the diversity of those ingredients working together. Not much different from meshing incompatible people into a functioning work group. Sometimes it pays to be ruthless. Jettison the clumps that make for failed collaboration.
Change the ingredients. Because Key West IS different, solutions that work on the mainland aren’t tailored for the idiosyncrasies of this island. It’s as simple as our baffling island time or locals catching up in the middle of the street and blocking traffic for 10 minutes. It’s as complicated as the shifting alliances among saltwater Conchs and freshwater Conchs, full-time and part-time residents, financially comfortable retirees and families one paycheck from disaster.
Biscuits are easier to make where the humidity is low and room temperature means 68 to 72 degrees, neither of which sounds like Key West. That’s where White Lily comes in. The flour is milled to work where the conditions aren’t ideal. Just like Key West.
And finally, handle gently. Biscuits, like people, get tough when they’re beaten, stirred and folded harshly, and few would deny the past year has been harsh. Most of us know the disorienting feeling of “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be,” and the resulting anger, frustration and weariness tempt us to lash out at those with whom we share little. We’re all a bit over-handled these days.
Enough belaboring of the “Key West is a biscuit” thing. You get the point. Happy New Year, my friends. We made it through 2025, perhaps barely at times. We can do it again in 2026. Plus, I’ve got biscuits to bake.
I have spent 40 years trying to to replicate my Grandma Mattie’s biscuits, which she, my mother or my Aunt Sissie made daily-the same way you remember— a pinch of this and a handful of that. Sometimes I succeed. White Lilly helps and so does homemade baking powder. Mixing cream of tartar and soda makes them lighter and they don’t have that metal taste that commercial baking powder always has. The skill I can’t master is salt rising bread. I fall miserably and consistently.
It’s a journey for sure! Thanks for the baking powder tip; I’ll give it a whirl this week. Great to hear from you!
Interesting comparison of biscuits in Key West. I have an absolutely wonderful recipe for buttermilk biscuits that came from a restaurant that was in Key West in the 1980s, Lazy Afternoon (thank you, Thad and Alan, who provided the spark for my business). Don’t make them very often, but they are swell..
They sound delicious!