Grits
Grits is a food made by boiling ground maize (also known as corn), and usually served with other flavorings as a breakfast dish, usually savory. It is popular in the Southern United States.
Grits is of Native American origin, and is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world such as polenta.
Modern grits are commonly made of alkali-treated corn known as hominy, in which case it may be called "hominy grits". "Instant grits" and "quick grits" use hominy processed for faster cooking, widely sold in supermarkets.
The word "grits" may be treated as either singular or plural; historically, in the American South it was always singular. It derives from the Old English word "grytt," meaning coarse meal.
Origins
Grits have their origin in Native American corn preparation. Traditionally, the hominy for grits was ground on a stone mill. The ground hominy is then passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits. Many American communities used a gristmill until the mid-twentieth century, farmers bringing their corn to be ground, and the miller keeping a portion as his fee. State law in South Carolina requires grits and corn meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour, unless the grits are made from the corn a miller kept as his fee.
