I find myself in the enviable situation of having two kinds of mesquite flour in the house. I did a taste test and was very surprised at the difference. I found that the Skeleton Creek flour had a lightly sweet nutty taste and aroma, but the Casa de Fruta had a much more intense flavor and bouquet. It made me think of chocolate and raisins; no kidding, it smelled like a Cadbury Fruit and Nut Bar. So for this recipe, I decided on Casa de Fruta.
I bought the Skeleton Creek at a farmers market, and don’t get me wrong; I’m not writing them off. It’s their mix I used to make mesquite pancakes which the whole family loved. We enjoyed them so much that my mother is now harvesting mesquite beans beans which we will take to a Native Harvest grinding event this fall. If any of my HCB buddies would like a sample bag of mesquite flour, let me know.
Casa de Fruta is available online and in several retail locations. I bought this bag at Whole Foods. I’ve corresponded with a mesquite expert from this company, so I know that they use a different process in preparing the flour.
This was a fun experiment. I just substituted 1/2 cup of mesquite flour for part of the all-purpose flour in the recipe that was on the back of the corn meal box, but I’ve changed the recipe below to use only 1/4 cup – the mesquite flavor was a little too strong for my taste. I’ve read that you can substitute mesquite for up to 1/4 of the wheat flour, but I think I’ll stick to 1/8 in the future. I’m looking for the subtle addition of flavor that I found in the mesquite pancake mix. (You can’t totally replace the all-purpose flour because the mesquite flour is gluten free, as is the corn meal, I believe.)
Ingredients
7/8 cup all-purpose flour
7/8 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 cup mesquite flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch pan. (I wanted to try out my small, 6 inch cast iron pan; there was enough batter for the small frying pan and 8 muffins.) Combine dry ingredients, stir in liquids, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serves 9
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Vicki
I didn’t know there was such a thing as mesquite flour. It sounds amazing and a Native Harvest grinding event delightful.
Suzie-Q
What? No picture?!
Lois B
Vicki – as my mom puts it, “we took 40 bazillion mesquite pods and brought back 5 gallons of flour.” Let me know if you’d like to try some.
Sue – I accidentally published this just before I left for work this morning. Photos have now been added.
tralf
Mesquite flour definitely adds sweetness (based on my very limited use). I’ve substituted it for part of the flour in pancakes and muffins and I thought it tasted great. I won’t be adding it when I make french bread though.
But it’s fun to experiment with.
Suzie-Q
And they are mouth-watering, indeed!
faithy, the baker
I’ve not heard of mesquite beans or flour either! This is so interesting!