What exactly are grits?

Question

My Mom has always said she loves them. I was going to make some for her but don't even know what they are.

Answer 1

Grits is a type of maize porridge and a food common in the Southern United States, and southern Manchuria (where it is called gezi in Mandarin) consisting of coarsely ground corn, traditionally by a stone mill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer part being corn meal, and the coarser being grits. Many communities in the South had a gristmill until the mid-20th century, with families bringing their own corn to be ground, and the miller retaining a portion of the corn for his fee. Grits aficionados still prefer stone ground grits, although modern milling tends to prefer faster methods.

The word "grits" comes from Old English grytta meaning a coarse meal of any kind. Yellow grits include the entire kernel, while white grits use hulled kernels. Grits are prepared by simply boiling into a porridge; normally they are boiled until enough water evaporates to leave them semi-solid. They are traditionally served at breakfast, but can also be used at any meal.

Hominy grits is another term for grits, but explicitly refers to grits made from nixtamalized corn, or hominy. These are the common grits sold in supermarkets outside of the Southern U.S.

Grits are also similar to farina and polenta. Polenta is also known in parts of the US as cornmeal mush, and is often sold precooked and chilled in sticks to be sliced and fried as a breakfast dish.

Grits are commonly eaten with a variety of added foods:

Butter
Red-eye gravy
Butter, salt and pepper
Butter and sugar
Gravy
Butter, milk, and brown sugar (more typical of the Midwest than the South)
Cheese
Cheese and eggs
Sugar
Ketchup
Tomatoes
Bacon or ham
Livermush
Shrimp, a favorite in the South Carolina Low Country region.
Sour cream
Fried fish, a Southern staple, is often served with cheese grits and hushpuppies (see Hushpuppy).
Game meats, such as squirrel and rabbit.
Molasses
Jam or Jelly
Syrup
Egg whites
Peanut butter

Answer 2

Grits is a type of maize porridge and a food common in the Southern United States, and southern Manchuria (where it is called gezi in Mandarin) consisting of coarsely ground corn, traditionally by a stone mill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer part being corn meal, and the coarser being grits.

Answer 3

Most Southerners eat hominy grits . Hominy grits are made from regular old corn that's been soaked in - get this - lye water, for goodness' sake!, until the kernels swell up to more'n twice their size. These fat, lye-puffed corn kernels are dried and ground up into a sort of coarse meal-like substance that we in the South call - ta-da! - grits. Sure, you can buy organic stone-ground corn grits, but that takes some of the dangerous fun out of it.

Answer 4

Course ground corn. It's a breakfast cereal, like oatmeal. Do not buy instant grits, or your Mom will disown you! You can find it in the oatmeal isle.

Answer 5

They are like liquid polenta. I love to mix them with my scrambled eggs, or with a cut up fried egg. You can make them instant in the microwave, or cook them longer, just like you do oatmeal. The best way I've found to cook them is in the crock pot. You have to wait a long time for them, but they are the creamiest, melt-in-your-mouth stuff I've ever had.

Answer 6

grits are a type of rice you boil thim in water but there are very fine. i love them too but u can get then only in the states they comne in a box

Answer 7

They're coarse ground corn. You find them with the cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat type stuff in the grocery store. They're great!

Answer 8

omg, they are the best especially with lots of butter and salt, but they are ground up corn, very course, but they are great you should try them. i like to add cheese to them from time to time