The things that get donated...

At the food pantry, various grocery stores donate food that is just at its "best by" (or "best buy", or "best buy by"?) date. I was surprised to see....

Ukrops White House Rolls!

These were a special treat when I would go home to Virginia - who knew that they were available in Texas too?!?!

According to the website http://whitehouserolls.com/ they are available in 30 states now. The website also has "Forty-Five Ways to Enjoy"  -- on their list is #9, Country ham, which is closest to my favorite - with another Virginia classic, Smithfield Ham!

From Wikipedia:

The Commonwealth of Virginia first regulated usage of the term "Smithfield Ham" in a 1926 Statute passed by its General Assembly stating:

Genuine Smithfield hams [are those] cut from the carcasses of peanut-fed hogs, raised in the peanut-belt of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of North Carolina, and which are cured, treated, smoked, and processed in the town of Smithfield, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The "peanut fed" and "peanut belt" stipulations were removed in 1966. The present statute reads:

...Genuine Smithfield hams are hereby defined to be hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry salt method of cure; and, aged for a minimum period of six months; such six-month period to commence when the green pork cut is first introduced to dry salt, all such salting, processing, treating, smoking, curing, and aging to be done within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield, Virginia

While it is unclear whether the green pork (the raw product of the cured ham) may come from hogs raised and slaughtered in other than Smithfield, Virginia; the statute's stipulation that the six-month (minimum duration) curing clock is to begin when the green pork is "introduced to dry salt"; and, that through the entire duration of the process, the ham and its processing must occur within Smithfield, Virginia. The statute also commands, that any richer, or more intense cure, obtained from an aging, that is in excess of six months, must also be done within Smithfield, Virginia.

Smithfield ham is a very salty ham. As I remember it, Mom used to say that it should be carved so thin that you could read a newspaper through the slice of ham!