The Question of Grits
A belated addition to the little discourse about grits.
Google has lots of nice pictures of appropriately-prepared grits. Ignore the rappers.
Grits are generally sold in a cardboard cylinder, like oatmeal. In the raw, it looks like very coarse white cornmeal - hominy is technically corn with the germ removed by lye treatment, which sounds dreadful but actually increases the absorption of some of the nutrients in the corn (total protein is decreased slightly). It's an ancient preparation that predates European knowledge of corn. Grits are either that ground up or a combination of ground hominy with traditional cornmeal (which either retains some of the ground hull and germ, or has removed them by mechanical means).
It's eaten a lot of ways, including as a hot breakfast cereal, in a bowl, like oatmeal, but also as a culinary starch (like rice, or pasta, in casserole-type dishes, or like mashed potatoes, sitting next to the fried chicken at supper.). In part, this is varies by geography - Lauralynne's Shrimp and Grits hails from Charleston, SC, but is common on the Gulf Coast and in Florida. Growing up, I most often ate grits on a plate as a side dish to scrambled eggs.
They're cooked by boiling, like polenta, though you don't have to worry so much about the lumps. The traditional sort takes about 30 minutes to cook stovetop, which I suppose is why they're often served runny and tasteless at restaurants - they try to rush it. As you cook them longer, they become more solid, but also smoother and less "gritty." For home use, there are varieties that cook up faster, without being "instant." (There's also instant, but that's no good.)
If they're seasoned, it's with salt and/or butter, which is the same way oatmeal is eaten in that part of the world.
There are people who insist they should be infused with cheese (which, happily, is not related to any common preparation of oatmeal of which I'm aware).
It's the official prepared food of the state of Georgia.
There's a yellow version, which includes more of the hull, but this changes the flavor, nutrition, and method of preparation.
I had absolutely no idea. I've heard of grits, in novels and such, of course. I am having a hard time imagining the appeal.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Alana, that's not an uncommon response. Though I like the them, I understand why common consumption has never spread farther.
ReplyDeleteGrits 101! Thanks for this excellent explanation. Now I want to try some, but can't.
ReplyDeleteThere was a hotel breakfast buffet in suburban Washington, D.C., where the menu was essentially six varieties of grits. That's when I decided these maybe aren't my style.
ReplyDeleteI love grits. Love them with butter, with herbs, yes-with cheese. I use the quick cooking grits because the instant kind are horrid.
ReplyDeleteI like them with cheese best. I've had very, very good grits made with butter and a little salt, but that's the exception to the rule, I think (unless one is preparing them oneself, which I am not).
ReplyDelete