Serious Cooks Prefer Flour Sack Towels

Serious cooks say there is no better vehicle for hand drying dishes or mopping up spills than the humble flour sack towel.

CULT PRODUCT ALERT | Don’t you just love it when you discover a product that is beautiful, useful—and inexpensive? If you haven’t already replaced the fancy cotton or terrycloth tea towels in your kitchen with ones made of flour sack material, here a few good reasons to make the switch.

Here’s To Flour Power

Made of a slightly softer version of the 100 percent cotton flour and feed sacks Depression-era women used to make clothing, dishtowels, pillowcases and curtains, contemporary flour sack towels are the most absorbent dishtowels you can buy. One website described the fabric as being so thirsty that any dishes that came into contact with it pretty much dried themselves. I’d have to agree. And because they’re lint-free, flour sack towels will leave all your glasses with whisky bar shine. They are also great for all kinds of other kitchen activities like straining sauces, proofing bread and mopping up spills.

Flour sack towels come in different thicknesses (the one shown here from Amazon.com is thin for proofing bread) and a range of irregular sizes (from 28 by 29 inches to 30 by 34 inches). You can buy flour sack towels that have been dyed bright colours or decorated with embroidery and appliqué, but I think the classic plain white ones with nubs and imperfections are the most beautiful. They are also the least expensive.

Maybe it’s because they have cult following, but flour sack towel prices are all over the map. The one shown above from Amazon is $24.99 for two, while Sam’s Club in the U.S. has a set of 12 for around $18.00. Go figure. I found a nice set of four at the Gourmet Warehouse for $6.99, while Williams-Sonoma sells a pack of three for $21. Obviously, when it comes to flour sack towels, it pays to shop around. —Olivia Pittman