grits

{{About||the Canadian political party colloquially known as the Grits|Liberal Party of Canada||Grit (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Grits

| image = Grits1.jpg

| caption = Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with bacon, scrambled eggs and toast

| type = Porridge

| main_ingredient = Ground corn

| place_of_origin = United States

| variations = {{ubl|Hominy grits | Yellow speckled grits | Cheese grits|Fried grits}}

}}

File:Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and poached egg.jpg

Grits is a type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried maize or hominy,{{Cite web |title=Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Chapter 4 Grains |url=https://foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov/Content/TablesFBG/USDA_FBG_Section4_Grains.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2023}} 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{{Cite web |last=Moss |first=Robert |title=The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South |url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/shrimp-and-grits-southern-food-history.html |access-date=March 21, 2017 |work=Serious Eats}} 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, {{lang|af|mieliepap}}, and mămăligă. The dish originated in the Southern United States but is now available nationwide. Grits are often part of the dinner entrée shrimp and grits, served primarily in the Southern United States.

The word "grits" is derived from the Old English word {{lang|ang|grytt}}, meaning "coarse meal".{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=grits |access-date=August 27, 2011 |title=grits |work=Online Etymology Dictionary}} In the Charleston, South Carolina area, cooked hominy grits were primarily referred to as "hominy" until the 1980s.{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Matt |last2=Lee |first2=Ted |title=Iconic Southern Plates: Lowcountry Shrimp and Grits |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/grains/grits/low-country-shrimp-and-grits |website=Southern Living |access-date=3 September 2022 |language=en}}{{cite book |editor-last1=Huguenin |editor-first1=Mary Vereen |editor-last2=Stoney |editor-first2=Anne Montague |title=Charleston Receipts |publisher=Junior League of Charleston|year=1950 |page=153 }}

Origin

The dish originated with the Native American Muscogee tribe using maize.{{cite web| url = http://deepsouthmag.com/2014/10/01/shrimp-and-grits-a-history/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307231435/http://deepsouthmag.com/2014/10/01/shrimp-and-grits-a-history/ | archive-date = March 7, 2016| title = Shrimp and Grits: A History |work= Deep South Magazine| date= October 1, 2014 |publisher= Deep South Media, LLC |access-date=2018-09-20}} American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans, and it quickly became an American staple.{{Cite web|last=Wulff|first=Alexia|title=A Brief History Of Grits| url= https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/a-brief-history-of-grits/|access-date=2021-07-31|website=Culture Trip|date=November 7, 2016}}

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.{{Cite news| work= Newsday| place= Melville, New York | title= Burning Questions: Kernels of Truth on Ground Corn |last= Marcus| first= Erica| date=3 May 2006|publisher=Knight Ridder Tribune Business News|page=1|via=ProQuest}}

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".{{Cite book| first = Charles L.| last =Cutler|title =Tracks that Speak: The Legacy of Native American Words in North American Culture| publisher = Houghton Mifflin|year =2002|location = Boston| page = 28| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CfekuKBLfpIC&q=grits+belt+map&pg=PA28|isbn =0-618-06510-5}} The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.{{cite web| website= sos.georgia.gov| url= http://sos.georgia.gov/state_symbols/state_prepared_food.html |publisher= Georgia Secretary of State| title= State Prepared Food| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080829193358/http://sos.georgia.gov/state_symbols/state_prepared_food.html |archivedate= August 29, 2008 | access-date= December 14, 2007}} A similar bill was introduced in South Carolina to name it the official state food,{{cite web| url= http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess113_1999-2000/bills/4806.htm |title= South Carolina General Assembly 113th Session, 1999–2000, Bill Number: 4806 |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature| access-date= February 12, 2017}} but it did not advance.{{cite web |title=A Bill And 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 |url= https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4806&session=113&summary=B |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature |access-date=22 June 2019}} Nevertheless, South Carolina still has an entire chapter of legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits. State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour.{{cite web |title=Code of Laws. Title 39. Trade and Commerce. Chapter 29. "Corn Meal and Grits" |url= https://www.scstatehouse.gov/query.php?search=DOC&searchtext=grits&category=CODEOFLAWS&conid=25854106&result_pos=0&keyval=18965&numrows=10 |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature |access-date=July 8, 2022}}

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".{{cite news | last1=Lee | first1=Matt | last2=Lee | first2=Ted | date=April 26, 2000 | title=A Taste of Charleston; Corn's Highest Calling: Grits | work=The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/26/dining/a-taste-of-charleston-corn-s-higher-calling-grits.html | access-date=March 17, 2018}}

Preparation

File:Gritsonly.jpg

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/how-to-make-grits/|title=How to Make Grits|website= Better Homes and Gardens| via= bhg.com |language=EN|access-date=2020-02-10}}{{Cite web |url= https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-grits-p2-995707|title=Cornmeal vs. Grits vs. Polenta|website=The Spruce Eats|language=en|access-date= 2020-02-10}} Whole-grain grits require much longer to become soft than "quick grits".

Dishes

File:Bowl_of_Grits.png

Grits are eaten with a wide variety of foods, such as eggs and bacon, fried catfish, shrimp, salmon croquettes, or country ham.{{Cite web |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/southern-grits-how-to_n_6043290|title=How To Cook Grits Like A Southerner|date=2014-10-29|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}}

Shrimp and grits is a traditional dish in the coastal communities in the South Carolina Lowcountry and Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain.{{Cite web |url= https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/shrimp-and-grits-southern-food-history.html| title= The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South |website= seriouseats.com| first= Robert |last= Moss| date=May 13, 2020| language= en| access-date= March 15, 2022}}

Solidified cooked grits can be sliced and fried in vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease to make fried grits, or they can first be breaded in beaten egg and bread crumbs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.justapinch.com/recipe/leah-stacey/southern-fried-grit-patties/other-breakfast| title= Southern Fried Grit Patties| website= justapinch.com | publisher= Just A Pinch Recipe Club | first= Leah |last= Stacey| language= en|access-date= March 15, 2022}}