Grits
Grits topped with butter. Butter is a Dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented Cream or Milk.
Origin Information
Dish Information
Main Ingredient(s) :	Corn
Variations :	Hominy grits Yellow speckled grits

Grits is a corn-based food common in the Southern United States, consisting of coarsely ground corn. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica This is similar to many other thick maize-based porridges from around the world such as polenta. Polenta is a dish made from boiled Cornmeal. Although the word is borrowed into English from Italian, the dish (under various names is popular in It also has a lesser resemblance to farina, a thinner porridge. Farina is a cereal food frequently described as bland-tasting usually served warm made from cereal grains

Hominy grits is another term for grits, but explicitly refers to grits made from nixtamalized corn, or hominy. Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize (corn in which the Grain is soaked and cooked in an Alkaline solution Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize (corn kernels which have been treated with an Alkali of some kind

Yellow speckled grits is also very popular in the southern states, named for the black specks in its yellow body.

Origins

Traditionally the corn for grits is ground by a stone mill. A grinding mill is a Unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces The results are passed through screens, with the finer part being corn meal, and the coarser being grits. Cornmeal is Flour ground from dried corn, and is a common Staple food. Many communities in the Southern U. S. used a gristmill up until the mid-20th century, with families bringing their own corn to be ground, and the miller retaining a portion of the corn for his fee. A gristmill or grist mill is a building where Grain is ground into Flour, or the grinding mechanism itself The twentieth century of the Common Era began on For other uses see Miller (disambiguation A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a Cereal In South Carolina, state law requires grits and corn meal to be enriched, similar to the requirements for flour, unless the grits are ground from corn where the miller keeps part of the product for his fee. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. ^[1]

Three-quarters of grits sold in the United States are sold in the "grits belt" stretching from Texas to North Carolina. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule ^[2] Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina, with one declaring: Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humour, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of South Carolina used to be the site of a grits mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world, if as Charleston's The Post and Courier proclaimed in 1952: An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. Charleston's The Post and Courier is oldest daily Newspaper in the South and the eighth oldest newspaper still in publication in the United States Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace. ^[3]

The word "grits" comes from Old English grytta meaning a coarse meal of any kind. An alternative etymology holds that it is a corruption of the word "grist" by African American slaves.

Grits is also the staple diet of many African countries, primarily because corn is hardy and easy to grow. In these cultures, the grits is often crushed using wooden poles (no mill) and cooked in three-legged cast-iron pots over a fire.

Yellow grits include the whole kernel, while white grits use hulled kernels. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored Grits are prepared by simply boiling the ground kernels into a porridge; normally it is boiled until enough water evaporates to leave it semi-solid. Boiling (also called ebullition) a type of Phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a Liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid Porridge, or porage, is a simple dish made by boiling Oats (normally crushed oats occasionally Oatmeal) or another cereal in Water It is traditionally served during breakfast, but can be used at any meal. Breakfast is the first meal of the day The word derives from the idea of break ing the '''fast''' of sleep

See also

• South Carolina grits and grist mills SCIway. net - includes photos, mill locations, recipes
• Cuisine of the Southern United States
• Cuisine of the United States

Notes