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Grits

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grits
Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with bacon, scrambled eggs and toast
TypePorridge
Main ingredientsGround corn
Variations
  • Hominy grits
  • Yellow speckled grits
  • Cheese grits
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] 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 like other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta and mieliepap. . Grits are often part of a dinner entrée shrimp and grits in the Southern United States .[2]

The dish originated with the Native American Muscogee tribe using maize.[3] American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans.[4]

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.[5]

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".[6] The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.[7] South Carolina has legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits.[8] State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour.[8]

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".[9]

Preparation

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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.[10][11] Whole grain grits require much longer to become soft than "quick grits".

References

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  1. "Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Chapter 4 Grains" (PDF). Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Moss, Robert. "The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South". Serious Eats. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. "Shrimp and Grits: A History". Deep South Magazine. Deep South Media, LLC. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  4. Wulff, Alexia (November 7, 2016). "A Brief History Of Grits". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  5. Marcus, Erica (3 May 2006). "Burning Questions: Kernels of Truth on Ground Corn". Newsday. Melville, New York: Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. p. 1 – via ProQuest.
  6. 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.
  7. "State Prepared Food". sos.georgia.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Code of Laws. Title 39. Trade and Commerce. Chapter 29. "Corn Meal and Grits"". scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  9. Lee, Matt; Lee, Ted (April 26, 2000). "A Taste of Charleston; Corn's Highest Calling: Grits". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  10. "How to Make Grits". Better Homes and Gardens. Retrieved 2020-02-10 – via bhg.com.
  11. "Cornmeal vs. Grits vs. Polenta". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 2020-02-10.