# Ode to grits



## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

As a northerner who lived in SC for 15 years, I became enamoured with the lovely grits during my time there. I admit, at first, they looked like a cross between - well, I won't go there.

But they do grow on you, and now I love 'em! Grits and cheese, that old Charleson fave, shrimp and grits, fried grits, bacon grits, grits souffle - grilled grits cakes.

And I am totally mystified now that I have tasted and enjoyed that magic food, why most northerners look on grits as tho they were being asked to eat dirt! Especially when its first cousin, polenta, has gained the heights it has in popular 'food fads'. One of life's mysteries, I guess - or do I just need to get a life?!


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

I know it doesn't sound fair but grits *is* in the same food category as haggis:

"EASY TO MAKE FUN OF" 

_Edited to make grits "singular"_ Thanks Suzanne


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## shawtycat (Feb 6, 2002)

i lived in NYC...and I love grits...they used to serve it at brekkie in the WTC...ground floor right nex to borders books...Yum..nice creamy breakfast grits with plenty of butter...

Now look what youve done Marm...Im gonna go make me some. LOL. Im allowed to stand up that long.

Jodi

PS 

We're adding it to the diner menu...lots of souther truckers keep askin for it and im the only one who knows how to cook it.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Mmmm mmmmm. I sure miss eating Dixie Lilly grits when I lived in Smyrna. Georgia. Every morning for breakfast. Can't get 'em here in Denver. They're the white rice counterpart to any meal. Just served plain and boiled.:smiles: :smiles:


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

"Grits is good; I eat it everyday."

I forget who said that -- Craig Claiborne, I think. To make the point that grits "is" singular. Anyway, I'd love to eat grits everyday! Such a great flavor alone, and a terrific foil for sauces!!!

My brother-in-law, who comes from Alabama, eats the instant stuff you "cook" in the microwave.  

Remember how important cooking grits was in the movie "My Cousin Vinnie?" What a hoot!!!!!


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Yuck! I HATE instant grits! They are always slimey, not creamy.

The best grits in NYC? The Pink Teacup-lots of authentic soul food.

People only make fun of grits if they've never had good bowl full. Admittedly, the name is wierd. 

So is polenta, kind of like placenta, huh?

Anyway, cheese grits with a few good shakes of Tabasco-the best "wake you up" breakfast ever!


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## coolj (Dec 12, 2000)

Hey, haggis is good eats.


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I love grits; what's not to like? I agree it's very like polenta- also like mamaliga, a Romanian dish I learned from my grandmother. It's made only with yellow corn, so far as I know.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

At the risk of sounding like a idiot, what is grits?


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## coolj (Dec 12, 2000)

It is sort of like cream of wheat only it's made with cornmeal instead.


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

Isa - Grits is polenta! And I've had it with both yellow and white cornmeal; yellow is better, and stoneground is out of this world!

And you can fix grits just about any way you would fix polenta, without all the arcane stirring of the pot!

Suzanne - was that quote from Craig Claiborne or Bubba Gump?!


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Huge article on Grits, their origin, variations and menuing in this month's Food Arts. Explains process of milling and variations.


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## elakin (Jan 12, 2001)

at the restaurant i work at we've been running grits with various specials for a while now.

we get stone-ground coarse grits from Anson Mills. they take forever to cook but have a great corny flavor.

we cook them, covered, with just water until they're tender, and then finish them with butter, parmesan cheese, and white truffle oil. sometimes fold in a little whipped cream too.

we use them as a base for various specials; crispy veal sweetbreads with a mushroom ragu, the grits, and veal jus, or seared sea scallops with braised oxtail and grits. 

the leftovers get laid out on a sheet tray and cut into cakes to serve with entrees the next day.

grits is good!


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## pinarello (May 3, 2002)

I believe grits is the same as polenta only granulated a different size. In german its Griess (pronounced greez)I wonder if grits is named after ther german?
Anyway its also popular sweet not just savory.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Thanks Marmalady. 

Can I use any type of cornmeal to make grits?


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

Isa, most grits are made from white corn, so if you can find a white, medium grind cornmeal, then yes, that's grits. If you want to taste the basic grits, get a box of Quaker - quick are okay, but definitely not instant!

Then, once you have an idea of what the 'traditional' is, do try the stone ground grits, as elakin suggested.

Traditionally in the South, they take the place of home fries or has browns on the breakfast plate; look here for a recipe from the Honorable Floyd Spence, US Congressman from South Carolina: http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/sc/gov/scgvfs1.htm

And this is my own grits souffle recipe:

CHEESE GRITS SOUFFLÉ

Serves 4

3/4 cup grits
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
3 eggs, separated
2T butter
1 ½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ - ½ tsp. cayenne
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 400; Grease a 1 ½ quart soufflé dish. 
Cook grits according to package directions. When grits are cooked, remove from heat and cool slightly; beat in cheese, egg yolks, salt/pepper, and butter. Whisk egg whites til foamy. Add cream tartar and whisk til the whites form stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the grits and cheese mixture, and pour into the soufflé dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or til the soufflé has risen and is light to golden brown on top. Serve immediately.


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## sammiemom (Jun 16, 2002)

That sounds good marmalady.

I like leftover grits with maple syrup for breakfast. Yum!


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

You have leftovers????? Even if I cook too much, I never seem to have leftovers!


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## sammiemom (Jun 16, 2002)

I have make extra for leftovers, or should I say planovers!

Besides, there are only two of us.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Thanks Marmalady I'll try your recipe as soon as I can find the ingredients. I'll have to go shopping, I only have white stone ground corn flour but no corn meal. Can I use italian corn meal for grits?


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

Check the cereal dept. - I know, I know - for Quaker grits, first. I've never used the Italian, but give it a shot!


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## coolj (Dec 12, 2000)

Isa, the PURITY brand of cornmeal is pretty good.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

I have a feeling this won't be easy to find. 


Any thoughts Kimmie?


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## compassrose (Jun 1, 2001)

Actually, I don't think grits ARE the same as polenta-type cornmeal. Grits, from what I understand, are made from dried corn processed the same way as masa harina: with lye.

And I can't get them at all, way up here in the far, far north. (Can't get hominy, either, which I've been dying to try.) Unless anyone knows of anywhere in Toronto that sells Southern or Latino stuffs -- anyone? Anyone?

I do make all kinds of grits-type recipes with plain cornmeal, though, and I agree -- the stone-ground is best. Bob's Red Mill for me.

Here's a fun page, grits lovers:
www.grits.com


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

I guess we'll have to go on a Mission...


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## elakin (Jan 12, 2001)

i believe you're right, compass rose.

i was always under the impression that grits are actually ground hominy, but polenta is just ground regular corn.

the two are pretty interchangable, but are also different, in my experience.

grits take a lot longer to cook, for one thing. i think they have a more corny flavor, also.

just made grits yesterday at the restaurant i work at. we're serving them now (truffled, of course) with butter poached lobster and spring veg (favas, fiddleheads, morels) and a sweet-corn emulsion.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

I just love the way this sound...  

First stop the grocery store. Only found Yello box of Quaker Cornmeal. I left it there. 

Second stop the market. No one knows if polenta meal can be use to make grits. Should I first try to make polenta? See how I like it.


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

You're right, folks - must have been having a senior moment there; grits are made from hominy, and polenta is just plain cornmeal. But I have used them somewhat interchangeably. There's not a whole lot of difference in taste, between the commercially produced grits and polenta-style cornmeal; the difference becomes remarkable when you try the stone-ground grits, and get that true, 'corny' flavor. Grits is good!


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Last night I cooked some Bob's Red Mill yellow "Corn Grits also known as Polenta." The texture was all right for grits, but the flavor was not quite as hominy-gritsy as grits, rather more polenta-corny. I expect grits to taste more popcorny than corny. Have I confused everyone? Sorry!

BTW: Eddie, that sounds incredibly delicious!!!!!!!!!


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Ok, if I may, as a southerner (don't let my current location fool you), steeped in the traditions of greens, 'lasses, pimiento cheese, barbecue, fried chicken, biscuits and above all, GRITS--I think I may be able to clear up any confusion about this humble, yet controversial food. 
Grits is a corn mush made from dried kernels of lime-soaked (not lime, the citrus fruit, but the mineral--and not lye, which is poisonous) hominy corn. Yes, it's the same grain that is used to make masa de maize, used to make tortillas and tamales. Masa de maize is ground more finely into a meal. Native Americans discovered millennia-ago that treating the corn with lime will prevent the disease known as pelagra, a severe vitamin difficiency, that comes from eating a diet based on corn.
Polenta is the same grain, just not treated with lime (hence the problem with pelagra in Europe when dried corn was first brought back from the New World.) Polenta is also ground more finely than grits are. But if you eat these two dishes side by side, you will find subtle differences in taste. This is due to the lime, and how often after treatment, the corn is washed.
The word "grits" is actually a form of the word "groats" which refers to any dried grain that is cracked to chopped into small pieces, but not ground into a fine meal.
White grits and yellow grits come from the different varieties of corn used to make them, just like yellow and white fresh corn and cornmeals. Stone grinding the corn or hominy (either finely or coarsely for meal, polenta, or the coarser grits) achieves a product with pieces that are less uniform in size and thus the texture is more interesting leaving the smaller pieces to deliver a more "corny" flavor.


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## daveb (May 1, 2001)

Grits it not _quite_ polenta. Polenta is corn meal, made by grinding dried corn. Grits is made from hominy (known to Mexicans as posole) which is corn treated with Lye to remove the husk and then dried.

Mamaliga is also cooked corn meal like polenta, although I'm told the Roumanian corn meal is not exactly like the Italian variety.


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## compassrose (Jun 1, 2001)

Well, well, well... I DID find grits, and canned hominy. I spent this weekend staying in a hostel in Toronto's Kensington Market, and my Saturday morning stroll was profitable.

The only thing is, I'm wondering what kind of grits I have. The store had instant white cornmeal (which I wondered about -- were they "instant grits"?) plus the stuff that I bought: "White Hominy Grits/Maiz Trillado Blanco", imported by SCMN Global Traders. But it doesn't look like what I've heard grits described as; I'm wondering if it might not be "big hominy." (There wasn't anything in between.)

'Cause it IS big -- it's like only barely cracked corn, big chunks. I cooked some up last night. It took about 45 minutes, and the corn chunks were still very distinct. I liked it a lot, actually. Great flavour, and the chunks were nice and toothsome.

However, if I want to get more traditional "grits" out of this, should I in fact be maybe whupping it through a food processor or something first, and breaking it up into smaller bits?


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## monkeymay (Feb 11, 2002)

There's a really nice article in the June issue of Food Arts Called "True Grits" by Betty Fussell. She's got a great breakdown on what grits are, it's history, and what contemporary farmers and chefs are doing with it today.
Here are a couple of sources she sites for finding the stuff:

Anson Mills, based in Columbia, South Carolina - 
Producing grits, polenta, roasted corn flour, and mixed grind slow roasted polenta from heirloom corn lines. They are also producing fresh hominy for local chefs. www.AnsonMills.com

Bright Food Shop and Kitchen Market in NYC 
216 Eighth Ave. www.kitchenmarket.com
Organic Southwest posoles

Hope this helps.

Monkey


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## georgeair (Jun 11, 2001)

... grits at all.

While in the store last night looking for grits, I thought of this thread as I stood in front of an enormous selection of grits. Every variety know to man, including protein-enriched (??). Among them all, not a single bag of regular grits. Instant, quick, microwave, etc. galore. And this is in Alabama 

For those looking for the true grit experience stay away from all these. If they don't take twenty minutes to cook and require a cooktop, they're not the real thing in taste or texture.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Isn't DIXIE LILLY brand available to you in Alabama? It tasted fine to me when I lived in Smyrna, GA.


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## compassrose (Jun 1, 2001)

(shamelessly bumping 'cos I really want someone who truly knows what grits is to enlighten me re: my post four posts up)

a curious CR


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## georgeair (Jun 11, 2001)

On a lark tried grits.com , and there is actually a site out there. The history section is brief I'll grant you....


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

Found this on a google search:

wri3ght.com/grits00.html

John's GRITS Definition

GRITS is corn ground into "grit" that is coarser than cornmeal and finer than cracked corn.

White GRITS has been bleached. Yellow grits is disgusting.

GRITS was created when the first Director of Recycling asked what to do with all of the leftover corn seed, and God said "Let there be GRITS".

On a more serious note:

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~robsond/solu.../janan125.html

GRITS--DEFINITION

Cornmeal and hominy grits are made from mature white or
yellow corn from which the bran and germ have been removed.

Cornmeal is ground corn. For hominy, kernels of hulled
corn are either left whole or broken into particles. Hominy
grits are grains of hominy broken into small uniform
particles.

White cornmeal and grits are traditional in the South; 
yellow cornmeal and grits are more likely to be found in the
North. Besides color, there are also differences in favor
in these products.

Most cornmeal and hominy grits on the market are
enriched with thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, and iron
according to U.S. Government standards. Calcium and vitamin
D also may be added to these corn products.


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## shawtycat (Feb 6, 2002)

Information about grits:

* What are grits?*
Grits are made from the milling of corn kernels. The first step in the process is to clean the kernels; then, the grains are steamed for a short time to loosen the tough outer hull. The grain kernel is split, which removes the hull and germ, leaving the broken endosperm. Heavy steel rollers break up the endosperm into granules, which are separated by a screening process. The large-size granules are the grits; the smaller ones become cornmeal and corn flour.

*Are grits good for you? *
Yes! Grits are high in iron and have no fat and no cholesterol. They are also high in carbohydrates and have several B vitamins, including Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Folate

Can't find Grits at your local grocery store? Buy them online at http://www.netgrocer.com










If you are looking for the Grits in this photo....they have the pat of butter on them. These are Hominy Grits. Best photo I could find...for now. You can eat Grits for Breakfast with butter & eggs or for dinner with gravy and chicken..etc.

Here is a pic of the Quaker Quick Grits Container usually found in supermarkets. The Regualr Grits container is red.....sorry Marm...couldn't find a pic of that one.


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

LOL, Shawty - Picture made me so hungry, I'm gonna have to go make some!


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## shawtycat (Feb 6, 2002)

Now here's an idea! I came across this while reading National Restaurant News online.

*Food Trends: Chefs make waves with grains by Amy Zuber*

*EXERPT*

When preparing grits, Hopkins first boils chicken stock and milk. Then he adds the grits and cooks them for 45 minutes to one hour. "I let the consistency get thick, and then I add butter, cream and salt to thicken it out," he says. "The fat softens it up a bit." The grits are served underneath shrimp that have been sautéed with onions, garlic, bell peppers and bacon.

"Grits work with everything," Hopkins says. "They work great with white, flaky fish, like grouper, and with salmon or pork chops or steak. They are a great starting point for lots of recipes."

Sometimes Hopkins makes small cakes out of the grits. For that preparation he cooks the grits with only a touch of cream to prevent them from becoming too loose, and then he spreads them on a sheet pan and refrigerates them until they are chilled.

"Then you can cut them into any shape that you want," he says. "Sometimes I deep-fry them or pan-sauté them for a different caramelization. They have a crisp outer layer and a creamy inside."

*Exerpt courtesy of National Restaurant News*


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Thanks for jogging my memory, Jodi! A few years ago, I went to a Valentine's Day menu demo by Anne Rosenzweig. One of the luscious dishes was what she (tongue in cheek) called "American Polenta" -- grits cooked in HEAVY CREAM!!! Not for everyday, that's for sure. Boy, was it good.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Mmmmm

They look, well, "gritty"!


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Darn you all for making me so hungry for grits ! great pic shawty.
Now to move the course a little finer , does anybody remember Corn Meal Mush ? Used to be a very popular breakfast cereal and the next days leftovers were converted into fried corn meal mush served with butter and syrup . Kinda like Polenta . Course I grew up a farmboy so this was a commen breakfast along with grits . 
your friend in food , Doug .................


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## shawtycat (Feb 6, 2002)

Corn Meal Mush...!  We have something similar in Barbados called Cou Cou (that's pronounced Coo - Coo  ) Im sure you can still find Corn Meal Mush down south.

BTW: When we make Cou Cou everyone gets a big serving because there is no such thing as leftovers.

Jodi

Bayou Bill's Corn Meal Mush

Aunt Jemima's Corn Meal Mush


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Corn Meal Mush, aka Mamaliga in Roumanian: a classic Eastern European dish. I never figured out how it got there, but it was well-known. Served as a savory, with meat gravy.

Horn & Hardart used to offer Fried Corn Meal Mush, with maple syrup. I would get it back in the mid-1960s, when my mother and I would stop in for breakfast before work (my summer job, her regualr work). And this was in New York City! Some good food travels really well.


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