The Nitty Gritty

[Jensen]

Just in the past little while, I've seen two (count 'em) articles on grits: one in an issue of Saveur (Nov. 2003) and in the latest Simple Cooking newsletter.

Despite some traumatic childhood experiences involving Cream of Wheat cereal, I quite like grits. I tried them for the first time a year or two ago and now, while on road trips through grits country, will opt for grits to accompany my breakfast.

Has anyone tried the artisanal grits described in the aforementioned articles? Are they yummy? Is this going to be a new food trend?

[Mudpuppie]

I got some fresh-milled, keep-refrigerated grits at Dean and DeLuca about a year ago. I only bought them because real white grits (as opposed to yellow polenta) is/are hard to find in No. Cal -- so, I was thrilled to come across them.

In the end, I didn't like them any better than the traditional kind (which doesn't mean instant or quick cook). The texture was a little more gummy, the flavor wasn't any more corny, and they took some hours to cook.

Probably they'd be a treat if they were served to you in a restaurant, but I don't personally find them worth the investment.

(And I've since found that you can find "white polenta" in bay area Italian markets, which has made me a very happy camper.)

(Grit tip: Saute some chopped garlic in browned butter and pour it over your grits. Yummy yummy yummy.)

[Jensen]

In the end, I didn't like them any better than the traditional kind (which doesn't mean instant or quick cook). The texture was a little more gummy, the flavor wasn't any more corny, and they took some hours to cook.

Now is the point that I confess that I am a Canadian living in NoCal and have only ever had grits in restaurants of the chain variety. What are "traditional" grits? Where can one buy them?

I did wander through the cereal aisle at my local Raley's and saw the instant and quick cook type. I imagine those are the types I've eaten. Should I be looking somewhere else for the traditional type?

[Mabelline]

Try a health food store or organic market. Some farmers markets carry meals and flowers. I think you'll find grits will adapt to any flavoring. As kids we ate "butterscotch grits" by melting a lump of butter with brown sugar. I still like it.

[Mabelline]

FLOURS

[fifi]

Now that I think about it, I am not at all sure that grits and polenta are the same thing. "Traditional southern" grits are all hominy grits, I think. Polenta is just plain corn meal, I think.

Hominy (posole in Mexican terms) is corn kernels that have been treated with lye. The flavor and character of the corn is changed somewhat. For one thing, that treatment of the corn "releases" some of the B vitamins and makes them nutritionally useful. In fact, many years ago in parts of Italy where polenta became a staple food for the poorer population, vitamin deficiency diseases (pellagra mainly, I think) became epidemic.

I don't have any polenta around right now to check the label and see if it sheds any light on the hominy issue. Does anyone know the answer to the grits/polenta question?

[Mabelline]

Yep, and then there's the plain rehydrated,and the parched then ground. The instant and quick are enriched. Are we confused yet? But good point- like the steam ground cornmeal they sell at first Mondays- it's just dried dent corn.

[Dave the Cook]

Corn grits are simply ground whole corn. The grinding process splits the kernel, and the hull and germ are (mostly) shed in the process, leaving the endosperm, which is mostly starch. The resulting endosperm granules are divided into three categories. The smallest, after further refinement, end up as cornstarch. Somewhat larger granules become cornmeal. The largest wind up as grits.

Hominy grits are treated with lye (or more often these days, baking soda, I think), but the result is the same: the endosperm is detached from the germ and the hull. Because grinding is not employed, the endosperm remains more or less intact.

Polenta is simply cooked cornmeal. This means that the only difference between polenta and corn grits is the size of the granule.

But obviously, this leaves lots of room for interpretation: stone-ground corn, whole-ground corn, white corn, yellow corn. As far as I can tell, there's no standard for the granule size in grits or cornmeal. Very blurry, I think. So I label them according to how I'm using them: it's shrimp and grits, but polenta with ragu.

Fifi is right: the lye process does increase the availability of niacin, lysine and tryptophan, but having discarded the germ, obviously decreases protein content compared to the source corn.

Now let's talk about sorghum grits!

[Mudpuppie]

Does anyone know the answer to the grits/polenta question?

You'll be so sorry you asked....

Here's my attempt at explaining the differences, and lack thereof.

"Grits" is basically a generic term that refers to a ground grain of fairly coarse texture. There are, in fact, wheat grits and rice grits and rye grits and, well, you get it.

Polenta is grits just by virtue of the fact that it's coarsely ground corn. And southern grits are grits because they're coarsely ground corn. The real difference is in the cultural, agricultural, and culinary traditions of the people who eat them.

The grits common in the south are made from white hominy, which fifi explained. (Hominy can be yellow, by the way. It can be any color, really. You could make blue corn hominy if you were so inclined, but it would look pretty nasty, if you ask me.) Italian polenta is usually made from yellow corn. The real question isn't what's the difference, it's why do southerners make a porridge from white corn, while Italians predominately use yellow? It's mostly a horticultural question.

Bear with me, here's some background.

Corn is native to the Americas. We all probably remember that from 4th grade history, and most of us probably remember that the Europeans were really impressed with it and took it back to their neck of the woods, and it's now the most widespread crop in the world. The attraction? It's nutritious; it's relatively easy to grow; it can be grown in an insane variety of climates/altitudes; and, most importantly, it's really, really easy to hybridize. So generations of people in different parts of the world have been able to selectively grow corn that suits their particular needs and tastes.

When Europeans ended up on the east coast, the natives were mostly notcultivating yellow corn. Their varieties were sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes blue. For whatever reason, they weren't growing yellow corn. And they were definitely making hominy out of white corn in order to make it last past harvest.**

And, elliptically, a southern tradition was born.

Italians started their own tradition, and it was made with the yellow stuff. Most (all??) cultures have grain porridges. The stories of their reasons for existence are all similar: You use what you've got, you learn to like it, and it sticks around.

So.

To recap: It's all grits. And it's all semantic. And in most of the south, grits are white, and don't you dare tell a southerner otherwise. And, garlic-cheese grits rule.

For fun, check out this NPR piece: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/grits/

You can also check out -- duh! -- http://www.grits.com.

A question: Why is "polenta" a singular/collective noun, while "grits" is plural? (I know the "grits is"/"grits are" debate was covered in My Cousin Vinny, but they didn't mention polenta.

[**One theory on the birth of grits is that pilgrims who landed in Jamestown were immediately handed welcoming gifts of steaming bowls of "rockahominie" by friendly natives. This grits precursor was a kind of hominy porridge. Now, this theory comes from Quaker oats http://www.quakergrits.com/QG_Heritage/history.htm, so who knows how historically accurate it is. More likely, it's a mix of anthropology and warm/fuzzy branding.]

[fifi]

Great post, Mudpuppie. Thanks. You are, of course, correct on the semantics of the word "grits".

So, do I take it that the corn that is ground to make polenta has not been treated to make hominy? For a long time I just equated polenta with grits. I even make fun of people who won't touch southern hominy grits with a ten foot pirogue paddle but just swoon over the latest Mario polenta recipe. Then I started really trying to notice and found that polenta doesn't really taste the same. But you have to think about it to really notice the difference. Especially if there is garlic and cheese involved.

[Jensen]

This afternoon I went on a quest for grits. I know I'd seen instant grits and quick grits in the local Raley's but, just to have more options, I trekked to Whole Foods.

After reading an article in the SJ Mercury News about grits, I decided that I would settle for Albers, if I had to.

Turns out I had to. Whole Foods had Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits (otherwise known as polenta) but I didn't want polenta. I wanted grits. My only other choice was the Albers.

Guess what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow?

[Dave the Cook]

I like Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits.

[Jensen]

I like Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits.

But are they grits or polenta? It said right on the label "otherwise known as ..."

The label also said they should be kept refrigerated and there those bags were, sitting out on the shelf.

[Mudpuppie]

I like Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits.

But are they grits or polenta? It said right on the label "otherwise known as ..."

The label also said they should be kept refrigerated and there those bags were, sitting out on the shelf.

They are grits and they are polenta. Because -- remember class -- polenta is a variety of corn grits. "Polenta" doesn't describe the raw material so much as the finished product.

But to really answer your question, the Bob's people sell only yellow corn grits, aka polenta. They can call them grits because they are. We can't really hold the semantic issue against them -- they're from Oregon and probably don't know any better.

The Bob's grits are not the white, southern hominy grits you were looking for, Jensen. They'd make a fine batch of polenta or "yellow grits," but you couldn't pass them off for the real thing in, say, Mississippi.

As for the refrigeration issue, I think Bob's does small batches. Their stuff is generally of higher quality and has no preservatives. Therefore, the oils can go off faster. Once the bags are opened it's a good idea to keep the product refrigerated. And if you're worried about the fact that the stores sell Bob's milled products at room temp, buy their stuff at a store with high turnover.

Jensen, are you in the Bay Area? (If not, why do I think that?) If so, I can point you to a grit supplier....

[Dave the Cook]

The label also said they should be kept refrigerated and there those bags were, sitting out on the shelf.

To what mudpuppie has said, I would add: 1) the bags are airtight (and packed with nitrogen, I suspect), so the direction presumably applies only after opening; 2) I don't refrigerate them, and I've never noticed any off taste. I transfer them to an opaque container and leave them in the pantry; 3) if you eat them quickly enough, storage won't be an issue!

[Jensen]

They are grits and they are polenta. Because -- remember class -- polenta is a variety of corn grits. "Polenta" doesn't describe the raw material so much as the finished product.

I think I'm getting it ... polenta is a subset of grits, as is/are hominy grits (the white ones I want to eat).

Jensen, are you in the Bay Area? (If not, why do I think that?) If so, I can point you to a grit supplier....

I am in that oh-so-cosmopolitan centre -- Sacramento <cough, cough>.

[fifi]

Mudpuppie... You misunderstand my question.

The operative word in this potential distinction between "southern hominy grits" and polenta is hominy.

Whatever the product in Oregon (yeah, they might not get the semantic distinctions) what I want to know is...

Is the corn used to produce classic polenta treated with lye and transformed into hominy before grinding?

[Dave the Cook]

Is the corn used to produce classic polenta treated with lye and transformed into hominy before grinding?

No.

And not be disagreeable, but I am not convinced that most grits, even those sold most commonly in the South (e.g., Quaker, Jim Dandy and Aunt Jemima), are treated that way, either. I think they are simply ground, de-germinated white corn.

[Dave the Cook]

And not be disagreeable, but I am not convinced that most grits, even those sold most commonly in the South (e.g., Quaker, Jim Dandy and Aunt Jemima), are treated that way, either. I think they are simply ground, de-germinated white corn.

I take it back. I finally found the ingredients list for Quaker Old Fashioned Grits. Hominy grits it is.

[Jensen]

Is the corn used to produce classic polenta treated with lye and transformed into hominy before grinding?

No.

And not be disagreeable, but I am not convinced that most grits, even those sold most commonly in the South (e.g., Quaker, Jim Dandy and Aunt Jemima), are treated that way, either. I think they are simply ground, de-germinated white corn.

From Simple Cooking Issue No. 83 (the most recent one):

"In a book review many years ago, I criticized Paul Levy for comparing grits to polenta, saying that the former are ground from dried hominy (dried corn from which the hulls have been removed by soaking in lye or hdrated lime), while the latter is not. I was the one who was wrong, but I was hardly alone in this belief. It may be that at one time folks who had to "crack" their grits at home (whence comes the epithet "cracker" as applied to rural Southerners) did so from hominy, since it was hull-less and easier to shatter. But the grits produced by old-fashioned grist mills are ground from plain dried corn, with the coarsest pieces of hull removed by sifting."

[Dave the Cook]

Well, I'm confused. One source (not that mine are on the level of Thorne's) said that dried corn was steamed to remove the hull and germ. To me, this means a water-based process. Maybe this is still considered to create hominy as the intermediate product? Or do you suppose that "hominy" is being used for marketing purposes because it sounds authentic and nicely old-fashioned?

I'm going to dash off an e-mail to Quaker to see what they can tell us.

[fifi]

"In a book review many years ago, I criticized Paul Levy for comparing grits to polenta, saying that the former are ground from dried hominy (dried corn from which the hulls have been removed by soaking in lye or hdrated lime), while the latter is not. I was the one who was wrong, but I was hardly alone in this belief. It may be that at one time folks who had to "crack" their grits at home (whence comes the epithet "cracker" as applied to rural Southerners) did so from hominy, since it was hull-less and easier to shatter. But the grits produced by old-fashioned grist mills are ground from plain dried corn, with the coarsest pieces of hull removed by sifting."

Jensen, I am not sure this is right. I have never heard of grits in the south referred to as anything other than hominy grits. If it ain't grits (hominy implied) it is corn meal. Many, many years ago, the wisdom of treating corn with lye was passed down to southern folks and those that resided closer to Mexico from the indigenous people in the area and became part of the tradition. In fact, many of my friends that are grits afficiandos tend to call polenta "bad grits". There seems to be a long standing tradition that recognizes the nutritional superiority of hominy over meer corn meal. It is not just a matter of removing the hull. The treatment makes essential nutrients available. The unfortunate part of the story is that the tradition of lye treatment did not transfer to Italy.

[Dave the Cook]

What you say makes sense, fifi, except that all the grits for which I can find ingredients listings are vitamin-enriched. Doesn't this imply that whatever might have been gained from the lye process is now simply being done through enrichment?

The thing is, using lye on a commercial scale is messy, expensive, and not a little bit dangerous. If you can obtain the same result through simple steaming and the addition of a few chemicals, why bother with caustics?

[fifi]

You make a good point, Dave. I don't know what the Quaker Oats folks are actually doing. All I know is that lye treated corn tastes different than untreated corn. Posole has a different taste and texture than whole kernel corn. Maybe the Quaker folks are fooling us and giving us cornmeal that is vitamin fortified. Feh!

[Jensen]

I looked at the Anson Mills site; their "hominy grits" are hominy in name only...no lye used in the process.

Charlestonians have always called grits "HOMINY" - a shortened version of the old Carolina term for whole corn "HOMINY GRIST." In Charleston terms this definitely does not mean corn soaked in lye (who would want to do this unless they were really hungry?), but it does mean fresh ground whole corn grist. Antebellum Hominy Grist was produced everywhere in Carolina and Georgia (there were an average of 40 mills per county here before 1860) by fresh milling corn then winnowing out only the hull to preserve whole corn nutrients, flavor & texture. So "Antebellum Charleston Style Whole Corn Hominy Grist" is the most flavorful and authentic style of "Grits" there is. Every year, at the International Grits Festival in St. George, SC, thousands of grits fans line up to get fresh milled hominy grist right out of the mill, but even at the St. George festival, they call this mill product "grits."

The Saveur article seems to contradict this, saying that the grocery store grits *were* soaked in lye. That doesn't really make sense though, given the enrichment info...