Horse Flour at The Irish Store

I am fond of scones, so my ears perked when my daughter, Josanna, told me about an excellent scone she'd eaten. It was baked by Oak Parker Carolyn Williams, and Josie told me it was made with horse flour that Williams purchased at The Irish Shop.

A few days later, I walked into The Irish Shop and asked owner Anne August if she had any "horse flour" in stock.

"Horse flour," said August. "There's no such thing."

"Well," I said, "my daughter had this wonderful scone the other day. She said it was made of horse flour…or did she mean 'coarse' flour?

"Ah, yes," said August, "we have coarse flour in back," which is right where she took me.

Odlum's stoneground coarse wholemeal flour is a product of Dublin. Ireland. Meaghan August, daughter of Anne, mentioned that this flour, though it's labeled "coarse," is actually lighter than what we buy in the states. "You'd have to sift American flour to get it as light as this 'coarse' flour," she told me.

Using the Odlum's, Josie made scones with Earl Grey tea and lavender, a very fine combination.

I'm a major fan of scones, and before I eat them I usually like to let the scones get a little stale (and thus harder and somewhat more crisp).

I've written here before about Scone-a-Lisa, a local baker of scones, and if you're looking for something a little less predictable than chocolate for Valentine's Day, you might consider sending your beloved a box of these Northern European baked goods.