World Grits Festival, St. George, SC 4/7-4/9

[Gifted Gourmet]

source of information here

from Charlestonlowcountry.com

Holly Eats website on this event

Americans eat about 100 million pounds of grits each year. And that' s not all consumed south of the Mason-Dixon line. In fact, grits are eaten in every state of the Union, usually by Southerners who have been transplanted there...  annual World Grits Festival which draws tens of thousands of grits lovers, and some of the curious, to their town about an hour west of Charleston.   The highlight of the festival has to be the Rolling in the Grits competition. A kiddie pool is filled with cooked grits and contestants dive in and coat themselves with as much grits as possible in 10 seconds.

My favorite way to prepare grits is ________________________

I live (select one) above/below the Mason-Dixon Line: __________________

What is the Mason-Dixon Line?_________________________

What are grits and why do people talk about them so much?________________

[Kouign Aman]

Lets band together and buy Marlene a ticket!

with butter and an egg chopped in

so far to the west that its irrelevant

good question (j/k)

the perfect breakfast food

[joiei]

the perfect breakfast food

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Breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever meal you want to call it. Grits done right rule.

[lperry]

1. With butter

2. Below the Mason-Dixon line that is:

3. The line that divides grocery stores into two categories: those that carry real grits and those that have a few boxes of instant.

4. Grits are delicious. I think people talk about grits so much because they are either completely mystified by them, or they love them and realize how versatile they are.

[lesfen]

Mmm... grits.

Butter, salt, lots of pepper, OE egg for company.

Above. I think. Sometimes I wonder...

Below that line, cute boys call me "ma'am" and I love it.

My mom always told me that they were "gross" so I didn't even try them until about 6 months ago. She said the same thing about lamb. I'm not listening to her anymore.

[andiesenji]

Cooked

Way west

The border between Mary Land and William Penn's land grant.

Corn, preferably white dent, dried, hulled from the cob, coarsely ground.

[ditsydine]

butter,cheese, and texas pete

below

a figment of our imagination

redneck polenta

[Guest]

The highlight of the festival has to be the Rolling in the Grits competition. A kiddie pool is filled with cooked grits and contestants dive in and coat themselves with as much grits as possible in 10 seconds.

Ouch! Wouldn't that burn? Poor kiddies!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Ouch! Wouldn't that burn? Poor kiddies!

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No kiddies .. just their swimming pools... cooked grits, as they mention, are very soft and starchy, therefore sticky ..

[Marlene]

Lets band together and buy Marlene a ticket!

with butter and an egg chopped in

so far to the west that its irrelevant

good question (j/k)

the perfect breakfast food

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Let's not. They actually have a national conference for this?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Let's not.    They actually have a national conference for this?

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Actually, it is a festival ... rolling in grits is one of, if not the main, highlight of the Grits Festival ... and the other highlight is that this is happening right near Charleston, should one opt out of the "festivities du grits."

[Carolyn Tillie]

So on my puddle-jumper flight between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, I sat next to a lady who told me about an agricultural/tourist community *somewhere* in her Georgian neighborhood that made their own jam and ground their own grits. She promised to send me a link so that I could make a purchase but no e-mail has come through. I was intrigued by the jam because it is made from some berry that I didn't recognize and I wanted to buy some of their artisinal grits.

Does anyone know what this community might be? If not, what might be the best artisinal grits to purchase online? My Daddy (pronounced Dahdde) was from Georgia so there's suth'n blood runn'n in this girl's veins...

Edited March 20, 2006 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

what might be the best artisinal grits to purchase online? 

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the one and only place for the best grits: Anson Mills

[joiei]

So on my puddle-jumper flight between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, I sat next to a lady who told me about an agricultural/tourist community *somewhere* in her Georgian neighborhood that made their own jam and ground their own grits. She promised to send me a link so that I could make a purchase but no e-mail has come through. I was intrigued by the jam because it is made from some berry that I didn't recognize and I wanted to buy some of their artisinal grits.

Does anyone know what this community might be? If not, what might be the best artisinal grits to purchase online?  My Daddy (pronounced Dahdde) was from Georgia so there's suth'n blood runn'n in this girl's veins...

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was the jelly a Mayhaw jelly?

[Carolyn Tillie]

So on my puddle-jumper flight between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, I sat next to a lady who told me about an agricultural/tourist community *somewhere* in her Georgian neighborhood that made their own jam and ground their own grits. She promised to send me a link so that I could make a purchase but no e-mail has come through. I was intrigued by the jam because it is made from some berry that I didn't recognize and I wanted to buy some of their artisinal grits.

Does anyone know what this community might be? If not, what might be the best artisinal grits to purchase online?  My Daddy (pronounced Dahdde) was from Georgia so there's suth'n blood runn'n in this girl's veins...

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was the jelly a Mayhaw jelly?

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Now THAT sounds familiar.... What the heck is it -- and would I want to order some???

[joiei]

So on my puddle-jumper flight between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, I sat next to a lady who told me about an agricultural/tourist community *somewhere* in her Georgian neighborhood that made their own jam and ground their own grits. She promised to send me a link so that I could make a purchase but no e-mail has come through. I was intrigued by the jam because it is made from some berry that I didn't recognize and I wanted to buy some of their artisinal grits.

Does anyone know what this community might be? If not, what might be the best artisinal grits to purchase online?  My Daddy (pronounced Dahdde) was from Georgia so there's suth'n blood runn'n in this girl's veins...

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was the jelly a Mayhaw jelly?

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Now THAT sounds familiar.... What the heck is it -- and would I want to order some???

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Description of Mayhaw. a fruit that grows in the swampy areas of the far deep south.

Where you can order some from

I love the stuff, I keep some on hand at all times.

Edited March 20, 2006 by joiei (log)

[moosnsqrl]

I love the stuff, I keep some on hand at all times.

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Now joiei, I hate to tell tales out of school, but I happen to know that your own momma calls you a Yankee, so why would we believe you have mayhaw jelly in your pantry?

[joiei]

I love the stuff, I keep some on hand at all times.

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Now joiei, I hate to tell tales out of school, but I happen to know that your own momma calls you a Yankee, so why would we believe you have mayhaw jelly in your pantry?

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Have you ever tasted this stuff. All other sweet jellies pale in comparison. It is not a knock you over event, the flavor is delicate and just delicious. Besides regular toast it is great on french toast or pancakes or what ever. And that Yankee son was because I lost my northwest Florida accent and learned to like bagels before anyone else she knew.

[moosnsqrl]

Have you ever tasted this stuff.  All other sweet jellies pale in comparison.  It is not a knock you over event, the flavor is delicate and just delicious.  Besides regular toast it is great on french toast or pancakes or what ever.  And that Yankee son was because I lost my northwest Florida accent and learned to like bagels before anyone else she knew.

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I probably wouldn't appreciate it but the s.o. would. Hot pepper jelly is about the only kind I ever use and at that I'd rather just have the hot peppers.

And only someone from NW Fla would think you had lost your accent. LOL.

I've never thought about having to "learn to like" bagels. What's not to like? I guess I just never realized they were an acquired taste. Another revelation from eG.

[Rachel Perlow]

My preference is stone ground yellow corn meal, so I guess I'm really making polenta. Whatever. With plenty of grated cheese mixed in at the end. If parmesan, it's polenta; if cheddar, it's grits!

[MissAmy]

Ooooh grits, how I love thee!

My favorite grits in the whole entire world can be found on Saturday and Sunday mornings at Hoover's Cooking about a block away from my house. The delicious and perfectly cooked grits are saturated in butter, massive doses of cheddar cheese, and garlic. Perfect and delicious! I could eat them every day!

[Lan4Dawg]

Remember Lewis Grizzard's book, "Don't Sit Under the Grits Tree With Anyone Else But Me?" I had some yankee going one day after she asked about grits. I had her convinced that the mimosa trees she had passed on her way fr/ the air port were actually "grit trees" and we harvested grits by just running our hands down the branches and collecting them. She was absolutely enthralled w/ the idea and wanted to take her husband on a "grits harvest" (our version of a "snipe hunt")before they returned home. He, on the other hand, had lived in the South for a while and was about doubled over w/ laughter and trying to keep a straight face so as not to ruin the little joke we were playing on her.

As for personal take on grits: water, chicken stock, cream, salt & pepper, lots of butter, and some times cheese.

I have never spent more than seven days in a row out side of the state of Georgia (& am some what proud of that fact)

And this thread raises the age old question, "Grits is or grits are?" or as Louis Jordan and Billy Austin so eloquently put it in their 1944 song, "Is you is or is you ain't my grits?".

As for the Mason-Dixon line, well...let's just say it separates more than two states.

To answer Caroline's question it could be the Georgia Agrirama near Tifton or perhaps Westville ("where it is always 1850") near Lumpkin in the South west part of the state (Al-binny and 'mercus--note: that is how they are pronounced--are the closest towns of any size) The jam is probably mayhaw but might possibly be scuppernong or muscadine depending on where this place is.