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Grits

Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with bacon, scrambled eggs and toast
Type	Porridge
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Ground corn
Variations	Hominy grits Yellow speckled grits Cheese grits
Cookbook: Grits   Media: Grits

Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and poached egg

Grits is a food made from a dish of boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits is a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization with the pericarp removed. Grits is often served with other flavorings^[1] as a breakfast dish, usually savory. The dish originated in the Southern United States but now is available nationwide, and is popular as the dinner entrée shrimp and grits, served primarily in the South.^[1] Grits should not be confused with boiled ground corn, which makes "hasty pudding" or "mush" or may be made into polenta using coarse ground corn, or with the "mush" made from more finely ground corn meal.

Grits is of Native American origin and is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta and mieliepap.
The word "grits" is derived from the Old English word "grytt," meaning coarse meal.^[2]

Origin

The dish came from a Native American Muskogee tribe's recipe in the 16th century, of Indian corn similar to hominy or maize. Traditionally from the southeastern woodlands, the Muskogee would grind the corn in a stone mill, giving it a “gritty” texture.^[3] They were made using a stone-grounder. The colonists and settlers enjoyed the new staple with the local Native Americans and it became an American staple dish.^[4]

Traditionally, the hominy for grits was ground on a stone mill. The ground hominy was then passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits.^{[citation needed]} State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour.^[5]

Three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are bought in the South, in an area stretching from Texas to Virginia that is sometimes called the "grits belt".^[6] The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.^[7] Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina, naming it the official state food.^[8]
Grits may be either yellow or white, depending on the color of the corn used. The most common version in supermarkets is "quick" grits, which have the germ and hull removed. Whole kernel grits is sometimes called "speckled".^[9]

Preparation

Prepared grits

Whole kernel grits is prepared by adding four to five parts boiling water or milk (seasoned with salt—1/4 tsp for each cup of liquid) to one part grits. Cover and cook for 20 to 45 minutes over medium low, stirring regularly.^{[citation needed]} Grits expand when cooked and need stirring to prevent sticking, and lumps from forming.^{[citation needed]} They are not done until they have absorbed four and one quarter times their volume.^{[citation needed]} Whole grain grits require much longer to become soft than do "quick grits." Some people serve grits with sugar, while others object to sweetened grits. They are often served with butter. They are served with grated cheese, sausage, bacon, or salt and pepper, or red-eye gravy. Extra, i.e., left-over, grits can be put into a glass tumbler or loaf pan, chilled until needed, sliced, and fried either plain or with a breading. In this form they are denominated "fried grits," "fried hominy," or "grit cakes."^{[citation needed]}

Grits dishes

Grits is eaten with a wide variety of foods, such as eggs and bacon, fried catfish, salmon croquettes, country ham, and many other dishes.^{[original research?]}

Shrimp and grits is a traditional dish in the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.^{[original research?]} A variation of the dish is also consumed for breakfast in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis in peninsular Malaysia. It is a traditional breakfast dish.^{[original research?]}

Solidified cooked grits can be sliced and fried directly in vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease, or they can first be breaded in beaten egg and bread crumbs.^{[original research?]}

Dessert grits^[10][11][12] are made with milk, cream, chocolate, chocolate tahini, brown sugar, and salt and can be served optionally with berries or fruit.^{[original research?]}

In popular culture

Grits are discussed in the 1992 comedy film My Cousin Vinny.
Grits are used as a punishment for a teenage girl in the 2008 film The Secret Life of Bees.

See also

• Creamed corn


• Cuisine of the Southern United States


• Cuisine of the United States


• Hasty pudding


• List of porridges


• Mush (cornmeal)


• Polenta


• Three Sisters (agriculture)

References

Look up grits in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grits.

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Hominy Grits