How do you eat them

[deerstalkert]

Bigger question, is grits singular or plural?

depends on how well cooked. one grit between teeth or under dentures can feel plural!

 

[Notchy Bob]

I like 'em plain, as well as anything. Occasionally with butter, and they are good with gravy if it is available. If I'm having eggs, I sometimes stir the eggs up in the grits (on my plate, not in the pot).

My wife (who grew up in Iowa, France, California, then western New York) will only eat them when I make them as cheese grits. Cook the grits until almost done, then dump in an absurd amount of shredded cheddar. Way more than you would think. Grits are mighty good that way, but cheese grits make a film that sticks to your teeth and is hard to brush off. Cleaning the pot is a real pain, too.

"A rose by another name would smell as sweet..."

Polenta, the Italian delicacy, is nothing more than congealed yellow grits. Old-time New Englanders made a dish called "samp" which was their name for grits. "Corn mush," a popular food in olden times, was just grits. I've had Seminole sofkee, which is thin, watery grits with meat cooked in it.

Grits are good food. Very versatile.

Notchy Bob

 

[Notchy Bob]

Always plural. You only refer to "a grit" when joking around.

They are good. You cook them in a pot. Those grits are almost done.

Grits (they/them/those)



Notchy Bob

 

[deerstalkert]

Always plural. You only refer to "a grit" when joking around.

They are good. You cook them in a pot. Those grits are almost done.

Grits (they/them/those)



Notchy Bob

is that the woke version?

 

[Notchy Bob]

is that the woke version?

That's it!

 

[JEBMs]

I guess you could use freshly made grits but I make extra and refrigerate the left overs in about a 1/2” thick layer in a pan. Slice the cold grits into squares and dip in flour. Fry In bacon drippings (or heart friendly oil) till brown. I like carmelized onions and jalapeños with mine

 

[RicM]

 

[Treestalker]

The big question- yellow or white grits?

Raised on yellow grits except at Aunt Lillian's house she was born 1892 in NW Louisiana, and was a frugal woman after her husband died young, but she had white cornmeal and cornbread came out about 3/4 inch thick and to die for, along with her grits and a chunk of homemade butter about the size of your fist.

 

[Treestalker]

I like 'em plain, as well as anything. Occasionally with butter, and they are good with gravy if it is available. If I'm having eggs, I sometimes stir the eggs up in the grits (on my plate, not in the pot).

My wife (who grew up in Iowa, France, California, then western New York) will only eat them when I make them as cheese grits. Cook the grits until almost done, then dump in an absurd amount of shredded cheddar. Way more than you would think. Grits are mighty good that way, but cheese grits make a film that sticks to your teeth and is hard to brush off. Cleaning the pot is a real pain, too.

"A rose by another name would smell as sweet..."

Polenta, the Italian delicacy, is nothing more than congealed yellow grits. Old-time New Englanders made a dish called "samp" which was their name for grits. "Corn mush," a popular food in olden times, was just grits. I've had Seminole sofkee, which is thin, watery grits with meat cooked in it.

Grits are good food. Very versatile.

Notchy Bob

Corn meal mush is not grits, it's cornmeal cooked in water to a thick, soupy mess. Never could stand mush. Not to be confused with hominy grits. I hear Sofkee is really good, but we made posole with whole hominy and meat, etc.

 

[Bushfire]

Are grits just boiled cornmeal?

 

[Treestalker]

Bigger question, is grits singular or plural?

Always plural, bite your tongue!

Are grits just boiled cornmeal?

No! The grit is different, and the best are made from hominy dried and ground.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Are grits just boiled cornmeal?

Not exactly cornmeal. Grits are much coarser, about the consistency of coffee ground for a percolator. It has to be the right kind of corn, too. Usually white or yellow dent corn. As noted in post #31, grits are sometimes made of hominy (corn treated with lye to remove the outer shell) dried and ground, but usually it's just corn (maize) coarsely ground, if it's the right kind of corn. There are several different varieties.

@Treestalker said corn mush is cornmeal, but either way, you put it in water and simmer it until it gets thick. The ratio of grits to water is normally about one to four. When I make grits for myself, I usually put in about 2/3 cup of grits and 2 and 2/3 cups of water. I eat all I want and put the leftovers as individual servings in little glass dishes with lids that my wife found someplace. These can be microwaved to warm them up. The lady of the house has a surprisingly hearty appetite, and if I make half a cup of grits in two cups of water, we usually clean 'em up in one sitting.

I would add that grits are usually served as a side or companion dish, with some kind of meat, fish, or eggs.

Notchy Bob

 

[tenngun]

is that the woke version?

There are some plane grits that self identify as chocolate malt o meal

 

[Bushfire]

Not exactly cornmeal. Grits are much coarser, about the consistency of coffee ground for a percolator. It has to be the right kind of corn, too. Usually white or yellow dent corn. As noted in post #31, grits are sometimes made of hominy (corn treated with lye to remove the outer shell) dried and ground, but usually it's just corn (maize) coarsely ground, if it's the right kind of corn. There are several different varieties.

@Treestalker said corn mush is cornmeal, but either way, you put it in water and simmer it until it gets thick. The ratio of grits to water is normally about one to four. When I make grits for myself, I usually put in about 2/3 cup of grits and 2 and 2/3 cups of water. I eat all I want and put the leftovers as individual servings in little glass dishes with lids that my wife found someplace. These can be microwaved to warm them up. The lady of the house has a surprisingly hearty appetite, and if I make half a cup of grits in two cups of water, we usually clean 'em up in one sitting.

I would add that grits are usually served as a side or companion dish, with some kind of meat, fish, or eggs.

Notchy Bob

I'll have to track down and try some.

Never heard of hominy before. Do I buy the tinned or dry version? I see both are available but bloody expensive. Still I will try it.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Well, I have to admit I ain't never et grits. I'm talking like my Grandmother here, a darn good women who never mentioned grits but talked about things like a thunder mug and my Dad crawling around in the front yard when he was a baby and eatin' some chicken sh#t before she good grab him. My Dad's comment was that he only et the white parts. Anyway, I never et grits but I do like corn meal mush fried in butter or bacon grease with some ribbon cane syrup, a few slices of bacon and an egg or two.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I'll have to track down and try some.

Never heard of hominy before. Do I buy the tinned or dry version? I see both are available but bloody expensive. Still I will try it.

The grits are dry, and they keep well for a very long time without refrigeration. I think grits would make good survival food... They keep well, they're very filling and a good source of carbohydrate and fiber (probably a little protein, too), and they are easy to cook, even over an open fire.

This website has a good explanation: What Are Grits?

I've never seen them canned, although I have seen Italian polenta pre-cooked and in a plastic roll, in one of the coolers at the market. Grits are usually sold in cloth or paper sacks or cardboard cannisters.

I have seen canned hominy, but I've never heard of anybody making grits from canned hominy. I would just get dry grits.

They are not normally very expensive. Where I live, I think grits cost about the same as corn meal.

Notchy Bob

 

[bud in pa]

I tried grits once. I was an owner operator on my first trip down south. It was winter, after tasting them I asked the waitress for a go box. She said what for, I said these here grits. She asked if I was going to eat them cold? I said no I just want them in case I get stuck on ice. She had some unlady like words for this yankee.

 

[Campbell]

A lot of butter and salt. Refrigerate the leftovers, slice and fry in bacon grease the next morning.

 

[tenngun]

Well, I have to admit I ain't never et grits. I'm talking like my Grandmother here, a darn good women who never mentioned grits but talked about things like a thunder mug and my Dad crawling around in the front yard when he was a baby and eatin' some chicken sh#t before she good grab him. My Dad's comment was that he only et the white parts. Anyway, I never et grits but I do like corn meal mush fried in butter or bacon grease with some ribbon cane syrup, a few slices of bacon and an egg or two.

You will find the taste close to mush, but texture not as smooth.
Hasty pudding and polenta all real close in flavor. If you’ve read the thread you will see how many base things you can do with them.

 

[deerstalkert]

my wife's grand mother was from MO. she introduced me to Grits. as she explained them, they were one of the three food groups, the other being rice and peppers! i asked "what about gravy?". "even a Red Skin should know that gravy is a beverage!" accompanied by a wooden spoon against my ear!