Grits

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Grits
Grits1.jpg
Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with bacon, scrambled eggs and toast
Type Porridge
Place of origin United States
Main ingredientsGround corn
Variations
  • Hominy grits
  • Yellow speckled grits
  • Cheese grits
Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and a basted egg Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and poached egg.jpg
Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and a basted egg

Grits are a type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried maize or hominy, [1] the latter being maize that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are cooked in warm salted water or milk. They are often served with flavorings [2] as a breakfast dish. Grits can be savory or sweet, with savory seasonings being more common. Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta and mieliepap. The dish originated in the Southern United States but is now available nationwide. Grits are often part of a dinner entrée shrimp and grits, served primarily in the South. [2]

Contents

The word "grits" is derived from the Old English word grytt , meaning "coarse meal". [3] In the Charleston, South Carolina area, cooked hominy grits were primarily referred to as "hominy" until the 1980s. [4] [5]

Origin

The dish originated with the Native American Muscogee tribe using maize. [6] American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans, and it quickly became an American staple. [7]

At that time, maize or hominy for grits was ground on a stone mill. The ground material was passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits. [8]

Three-quarters of the grits sold in the U.S. are bought in the South, in an area stretching from Lower Texas to Washington, D.C., that is sometimes called the "grits belt". [9] The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002. [10] A similar bill was introduced in South Carolina to name it the official state food, [11] but it did not advance. [12] Nevertheless, South Carolina still has an entire chapter of legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits. [13] State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour. [13]

Grits may be either yellow or white, depending on the color of the maize used. The most common version in supermarkets is "quick" grits, which are made from non-hominy maize and have the germ and hull removed. Whole kernel grits are sometimes called "speckled". [14]

Preparation

Prepared grits Gritsonly.jpg
Prepared grits

Grits are prepared by mixing water or milk and the dry grits and stirring them over heat, if one uses cornmeal, the food is called mush. [15] [16] Whole grain grits require much longer to become soft than "quick grits".

Dishes

Creamy bowl of grits Bowl of Grits.png
Creamy bowl of grits

Grits are eaten with a wide variety of foods, such as eggs and bacon, fried catfish, shrimp, salmon croquettes, or country ham. [17]

Shrimp and grits is a traditional dish in the coastal communities in the South Carolina Lowcountry and Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain. [18]

Solidified cooked grits can be sliced and fried in vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease, or they can first be breaded in beaten egg and bread crumbs. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hominy</span> Dried nixtamalized corn consumed as food

Hominy is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization. "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Southern United States</span> Regional cuisine of the United States

The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American Cuisine and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porridge</span> Food

Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornmeal</span> Meal (coarse flour) ground from dried corn

Cornmeal is a meal ground from dried corn (maize). It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be. In Mexico, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater, it is called masa harina, which is used for making arepas, tamales, and tortillas. Boiled cornmeal is called polenta in Italy and is also a traditional dish and bread substitute in Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornbread</span> American bread made with cornmeal

Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are staple foods of the Hopi people in Arizona. The Hidatsa people of the Upper Midwest call baked cornbread naktsi. Cherokee and Seneca tribes enrich the basic batter, adding chestnuts, sunflower seeds, apples, or berries, and sometimes combine it with beans or potatoes. Modern versions of cornbread are usually leavened by baking powder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mămăligă</span> Porridge made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polenta</span> Italian porridge, usually of cornmeal

Polenta is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peasant foods</span> Dishes eaten by peasants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hushpuppy</span> Deep-fried savory food made from cornmeal batter

A hush puppy is a small, savory, deep-fried round ball made from cornmeal-based batter. Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish with seafood and other deep-fried foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugali</span> Type of maize meal made in Africa

Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.

Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge of grains cooked in milk or water. In the United States, it often refers specifically to a version made primarily with ground ("Indian") corn, and it is mentioned in the lyrics of "Yankee Doodle", a traditional American song of the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mielie meal</span> Coarse maize flour, mainly used in Africa

Mielie meal, also known as mealie meal or maize meal, is a relatively coarse flour made from maize or mealies in Southern Africa, from the Portuguese milho. This is uncertain, as "mealie", in South Africa is an Afrikaans word. Etymology. Borrowed from Afrikaans mielie, from obsolete Dutch milie, from Old French mil (“millet”). It is also known by various other indigenous language names depending on the locality or country. It was originally brought to Africa from the Americas by the Portuguese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samp</span> Preparation of dried corn from Africa

Samp is a food made from dried corn kernels that have been pounded and chopped until broken, but not as finely ground as mealie-meal or mielie rice. The coating around the kernel loosens and is removed during the pounding and stamping process. It is eaten across South Africa and by the Lozi and Tonga people of Zambia with sugar and sour milk. It can also be served with gravy and various additives. It is cooked with beans in the Xhosa variant of umngqusho and sometimes eaten with chakalaka. It can also be served with beef, lamb, poultry and in stuffings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous cuisine of the Americas</span> Food and drink of peoples Indigenous to the Americas

Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy, and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnycake</span> American cornmeal flatbread

Johnnycake, also known as journey cake, johnny bread, hoecake, shawnee cake or spider cornbread, is a cornmeal flatbread, a type of batter bread. An early American staple food, it is prepared on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Jamaica. The food originates from the indigenous people of North America. It is still eaten in the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Croix, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mush (cornmeal)</span> Boiled cornmeal pudding

Mush is a type of cornmeal pudding which is usually boiled in water or milk. It is often allowed to set, or gel into a semisolid, then cut into flat squares or rectangles, and pan fried. Usage is especially common in the eastern and southeastern United States. It is customary in the midwestern United States to eat it with maple syrup or molasses. In Eastern Europe, milk is poured over the meal once served and cooled down, rather than being boiled in it. Cornmeal mush is often consumed in Latin America and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hominy Grill</span> Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

Hominy Grill was a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. It was located at 207 Rutledge Avenue, in the heart of historic downtown Charleston. The restaurant has been delighting tourists and locals alike for almost 24 years. Chef Robert Stehling has been honored by the James Beard Foundation Award as the best chef in the Southeastern United States in 2008 and the restaurant has been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, Amazing Eats (shrimp & grits and the "Big Nasty" and Man v. Food. The restaurant features amped-up Southern classics and Lowcountry cuisine with an elevated twist.

References

  1. "Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Chapter 4 Grains" (PDF). Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Moss, Robert. "The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South". Serious Eats . Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. Harper, Douglas. "grits". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  4. Lee, Matt; Lee, Ted. "Iconic Southern Plates: Lowcountry Shrimp and Grits". Southern Living . Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  5. Huguenin, Mary Vereen; Stoney, Anne Montague, eds. (1950). Charleston Receipts. The Junior League of Charleston. p. 153.
  6. "Shrimp and Grits: A History". Deep South Magazine. Deep South Media, LLC. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  7. Wulff, Alexia (November 7, 2016). "A Brief History Of Grits". Culture Trip. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  8. Marcus, Erica (May 3, 2006). "Burning Questions: Kernels of Truth on Ground Corn". Newsday. Melville, New York: Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. p. 1 via ProQuest.
  9. Cutler, Charles L. (2002). Tracks that Speak: The Legacy of Native American Words in North American Culture. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 28. ISBN   0-618-06510-5.
  10. "State Prepared Food". sos.georgia.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
  11. "South Carolina General Assembly 113th Session, 1999–2000, Bill Number: 4806". scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  12. "A Bill to Amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, By Adding Section 1-1-703 So As To Recognize Grits As the Official Food of the State. Session 113 - (1999-2000). 4806 General Bill, By Altman". scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Code of Laws. Title 39. Trade and Commerce. Chapter 29. "Corn Meal and Grits"". scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  14. Lee, Matt; Lee, Ted (April 26, 2000). "A Taste of Charleston; Corn's Highest Calling: Grits". The New York Times . Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  15. "How to Make Grits". Better Homes and Gardens . Retrieved February 10, 2020 via bhg.com.
  16. "Cornmeal vs. Grits vs. Polenta". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  17. "How To Cook Grits Like A Southerner". HuffPost. October 29, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  18. Moss, Robert (May 13, 2020). "The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South". seriouseats.com. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  19. Stacey, Leah. "Southern Fried Grit Patties". justapinch.com. Just A Pinch Recipe Club. Retrieved March 15, 2022.