A few month’s back Sheila, a Blind Pig reader, left a comment about the word flumlolly. I emailed her to inquire about the word usage and she sent me the following email.
“Good afternoon! When she made a pan of biscuits or something like that it was the odd shaped biscuit she usually stuck in the middle of the pan. The flumlolly was the biscuit made from the leftover dough when there wasn’t enough to make a round one like the other ones. The gathered up edges, etc. 🙂 and it was more crusty because it was a smaller piece than the others. It was always my favorite. Mammaw, can I have the flumlolly?
I’d never heard the word flumlolly before Sheila mentioned it. I looked in my Appalachian language books but couldn’t find it.
Even though I’m not familiar with the word, I am familiar with that last bit of dough that’s left when you’re making biscuits. I guess I call it the baby biscuit and I pretty much always eat it as soon as the pan comes out of the oven.
This week we:
- froze okra
- froze peppers
- made another run of salsa
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The last dab of biscuit dough in my house is rolled into a “pig tail” and baked. It is usually eaten up first!
Tipper,
When I was young, we built a swimming hole in the Creek that came right by our house. John was the Master-Builder and Me and Harold helped him. He was older and could pick-out things better. After we got it finished, I looked around and saw Mama standing there in a Pettycoat. She waded out in there and hollared ” Oochie, it’s Cold “! She could swim like a Fish, I hadn’t never seen our Mama Swim before, and that Stroke she had when I was about a month old…didn’t bother her a Bit. She swam to the upper end and back two times. I couldn’t even do that! It was about 40 feet long.
Minners and red-sides had already gathered in our pond and they were glad we built it. It was Christal Clear, about 4 or Nearly 5 feet deep, wider where it was backed up from. It was Grassey where we dove in and Fun. …Ken
I call them cook’s treat.
This all brings back fond memories of when I was a boy and growing up in the hill from of Christian Kentucky in Lonesome Woods and Wildcat Hollar near the small village f Crofton,Kentucky.My ole grandpa Buck Shot Barnett made whiskey in the 20’s,30’s,40’s but I the 50’s headed for southern Indiana for work where most of her s children wound up too. I can still see him sittin in his rockin chair,with a Folgers coffee can between his feet he used for a tobacker spit can that he missed more than he hit and tobacker juice runnin down both corners of hs mouth and he would just be ah grinnn and cuttin up with anybody that would listen! Yeah them were the good ole day’s- – that’s fer shur
Here it’s “Them wuz the good ole days–that’s for shore”
We just called that last bit of dough (biscuit, bread, cookie, pie crust, whatever) “nibbin” – – so I “googled” that term but only came up with “nubbin” – – and what a wide variety of meanings that word has!!!!
I love how Appalachians give names to common everyday things that nobody ever thinks about. I have never heard that leftover biscuit dough called anything. I am very familiar with it, but one difference. Our leftover dough always made a misshapen larger elongated biscuit, from the dough after cutting out the biscuits. Mom had a sifter, and she shaped all her biscuits into round biscuits with always one larger crusty misshapen biscuit. It was usually big enough so you did not have to go back for seconds. I always thought it odd that my Mom and Dad were raised about 10 miles apart, but still grew up doing so many things differently. Mom cooked greens, cabbage and most things like that totally dry without liquid, almost fried. Dad grew up with everything cooked in lots of liquid, and he sometimes called it soppy. My sister and I both learned Moms ways.
I was so very proud of my granddaughter when I went to visit. She could really cook even though she was never interested when younger. For biscuits she used Bisquick and made drop biscuits, and they were delicious. Who knew? I was dreading her corn bread made from that sweet Jiffy corn mix, as no self respecting person on the mountain where I grew up would ever use Jiffy. She mixed in some cheese and peppers, and maybe a little corn, and was that ever good. I am living proof you can teach an old dog new tricks!
I am a crust man. The little odd shaped biscuit usually had more crust. I don’t know what anybody else called it. I called it GOOD! If I’m around when it comes out of the oven everybody else can call it GONE!
I’ve never heard the word either. Although I like the sound of it for that last little whippersnapper of a biscuit.. 🙂 hot out of the oven buttered just right along with a dollop of sorghum .Speaking of sorghum, the molasses that was on my granny’s table way back when I was much younger, it was dark and so thick you had to sorta dig it out of the can… around here now, it’s not thick or dark or as strong tasting….the kind my granny had was in a metal can with a lid you needed to pry off. I miss the strong tasting thick kind that doesn’t roll off your biscuit too fast.
I don’t know if I have a name for it or not, but I usually shape mine into a braid shape. My husband always grabs it up first and eats it.
I’ve made and eaten plenty of them, but never knew they had a name! I love the word flumlolly!
Well, I’ve never heard it called flumlolly or frammydude but it needed a name. We just call it little biscuit, baby biscuit, or leftover. My Wife just calls it eat. She likes raw dough, especially cookie dough. Her Mother used to tell her she would get worms from eating dough.
My grandfather always said that about eating raw cake batter. I dipped my finger in anyway!
Well, it may not be related but . . the southern loblolly pine got its name by an association of where it grew to a “loblolly” which – in Colonial America – meant more or less a ‘mudhole’ or more generally a mixed up mess. So perhaps by extension the “lolly” part of “flumlolly” is about the whats-left-over. One rough Appalachian equivalent might be “gom”. This particular word might just be an individual family usage as individuals and families invent words also. Anyway, it is intriging
I use GOM or sticky wicket to describe a situation of which there seems no way out of. “
My husband grew up in Indiana but had roots in Tennessee and Kentucky. His mother used to call the flumlolly a frammydude. My roots are northeast and had no name for that leftover dough.
My gran used to call it something like “peddypoodlin.” Anyone heard of this?
BobbyLongo-I haven’t heard that one thank you for sharing it 🙂
Your salsa is, by far, the best I’ve ever tasted, it hit my mouth and it had the perfect amount of every ingredient. I just wanted to eat the whole jar! You be sure and hold on to that recipe!
I know that last bit of the biscuit dough but I’ve never heard it call flumlolly or any other name.
The last of the biscuit dough always goes to the kids and always has in my family. Usually the child who’s hanging around watching gets the extra dough. She or he can pat it til their hearts content and play. Then it’s baked and given to that child. I’m not one to let snotty noses and hands in question near my dough. It’s not allowed nor ever has been. I’d like to look in your canned food pantry. I bet it’s stocked, beautiful and filled with shiny bottles on the shelves! You’re a worker bee for certain! I did make relish. It’s pretty good. I got 7 little jars. Have a good Labor Day all!