Indigenous Southern Grits

Let me say up front, I like porridge, which means I inherently like grits. Porridge is a usually warm, ground cereal that provides the eater with a full belly and a sense of satiation. In many ways, grits (like many porridges) is the blank canvas that home and professional cooks can paint on with various colors, aromas, and flavors. But it also has a critical place in American history.

Grits are Porridge

Porridge is a boiled cereal and are intended to fill the body with energy to start the day. So it tends to be a high carbohydrate food, examples are below.

• Grits are made from ground, processed corn.
• Italian polenta is made from corn-meal.
• British + USA Oatmeal porridge is made from flat rolled oats,
• Asian congee is made from crushed rice.
• Farina (a.k.a. cream of wheat) comes from wheat (2).
• African millet porridge is obviously made from millet. I have only eaten this with fruit.

All of these porridges can be made sweet or savory, but my experience is that they are mainly savory breakfasts.

My Gritty Story

When I lived in the American South, I would often eat a bowl full of grits with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper. But there were (and are) cheesy versions, shrimpy versions, and lots of gravy topped versions; as many versions of a bowl of grits as there are cooks.

Despite my childhood favorite toppings, there are other ways I now like to eat this food. So splattered in this post are some of my favorite ways to eat grits. But be forewarned, porridge is meant to be a starchy, carb-filled bowl of yummy, intended to give you enough energy to get the morning started.

It is a cheap, “peasant” food that has now been incorporated and venerated as a key food in Southern Cuisine (2). Cooked grits are a thick porridge, smooth (not gritty), and have a mild corn flavor, if any flavor at all. 

• Peasant foods are dishes specific to a particular culture, made from accessible and inexpensive ingredients, and usually prepared and seasoned to make them more palatable. Wikipedia
• The phrase ”peasant foods” is a European term used to indicate that these dishes were originally cheap and plentiful, usually very starchy, so that poorer people (peasants) could satisfyingly fill their stomach.

History of Corn + Grits

Corn, and its popularity across the world, has its own path, different from grits. So let me intertwine them a bit for this part of the story.

Native American People’s Maize

Corn is an ancient staple, milled maize has been found as far back as 8700 BCE in Central America. So it is safe to say that growing, milling, boiling, and eating corn has been around for a very long time. From its native American origin, corn and its uses, went along with Native explorers all across the South, Central, and North American lands.

• The word “grits” is used for a particular dish in Southern American Cuisine, but it actually refers to any coarsely ground grain and was eaten by the Native Americans (1).

Europeans

According to Wikipedia, corn was not introduced to Europe until 1492, when plants or seeds were brought back to Spain by European explorers (or conquerers) from the Americas. Later, in 1584, when European Colonists arrived, the Native Peoples introduced them to a version of grits (2).

• The CultureTrip: During surveillance of the new lands in present-day Roanoke, North Carolina, Sir Walter Raleigh and his men dined with the local Natives. One of the men, Arthur Barlowe, wrote about the ‘very white, faire, and well tasted’ boiled corn served by their hosts. Less than two decades later, this year-round staple – called ‘rockahomine’ by the Natives, later to be shortened to ‘hominy’ by the colonists – was offered to the new settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, when they arrived in 1607.

Africans + Black Americans

Every story I have read about grits history, involves the passing on of a slow cooked starchy dish, changing it, and eventually imbibing it with local cultural meaning. This was re-enforced by Author Erin Byers Murray who wrote Grits: A Cultural and Culinary Journey Through The South. From Native Peoples (boiled corn mash), to Europeans (such as Italy’s polenta), to African Slaves and Black Americans (grits) in North America.

• Mashed: Corn was frequently included in the rations they were given by plantation owners, and creek shrimp could be hand-caught without the slavers’ knowledge. 
• DeepSouthMag: There are also known writings from the Gullah Geechee, descendants of slaves from West Africa, that mention meals resembling shrimp and grits … Making the most of their local resources on the coast, the Gullahs would catch shrimp and other fish in nets and cook them in a variety of ways, including with grits.

American Southern Cuisine

DeepSouthMag writes that grits became recognized as a Southern food in 1982, when Chef Bill Neal served shrimp + grits at a restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Craig Claiborne of The New York Times visited the restaurant and wrote about the food, sharing recipe to the broader US in 1985.

Grit Specs

The Name

Wikipedia states definitively that the name comes from Old English:

• “Grits” is derived from Grytt, an Old English word meaning “coarse meal”.
• The dish came from a Native American Muskogee tribe’s recipe in the 16th century, of Indian corn similar to hominy or maize.
• The Muskogee would grind the corn in a stone mill, giving it a “gritty” texture.
• The colonists and settlers enjoyed the new staple with the local Native Americans and it became an American staple dish.

But there are other stories about the name, pointing to German of Italian roots, Savanah writes:

• The name is most likely to have derived from the German term “Grütze”, which in turn derived from the Italian term “Gruzzi”, meaning crushed – or coarsely ground – corn.

Types of Grits

There are differing types of grits, based on how they are processed. As with most food, the more processed it is, the less nutrition is available to us, so you will find many of the quick and instant versions are fortified.

• Stone-ground Grits: Whole dried kernels are ground, appear speckled, and taste more like corn. These are the healthiest grits as they are closest to the raw corn.
• Hominy Grits: This version is made from alkali soaked corn kernels to soften the outer shell. Then rinsed, the outer hull are removed, then further processed.
• Quick Grits: Quick grits are finely ground and thus tend to cook quickly. This type of grits are processed to remove the pericarp and nutrient-rich germ, This processing provides a longer shelf life.
• Instant Grits: These grits have been pre-cooked and dehydrated. Just add water. I do not recommend this type of grits at all, does not taste good to me at all.

Popular Choices

These are the three types of which I am most familiar.

Albers Quick Grits: These grits are white, and the box is the most familiar. The grains are consistent, and if undercooked, gritty. So cook them per the instructions.

Bob’s Red Mill Corn Grits (polenta) : Bob’s Red Mill Corn grits are yellow. The consistency is thick and creamy, but with differently sized grains.  made for an interesting bite.

Palmetto Farms Stone Ground White Grits: These appear on Amazon’s Best Seller list. It is made from non-GMO and unenriched stone-ground corn, produced in a wheat free facility.

Grits and Nutrition

According to the manufacturers, for 1/4C of dry grits it is a low calorie filling breakfast.

• Albers box (white): 1/4C of grits contains: 140c, 31k, 1f, 3p.
• Bob’s bag (yellow): 1/4C of grits contains: 130c, 27k, 2f, 3p.
• Palmetto sack (yellow or white): 1/4C of grits contains: 120c, 25k, 2f, 3p.

But in terms of eating 1C of cooked grits, I looked at the USDA website to get their take on its nutritional content.

• Folate: 25% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Thiamine: 18% of the RDI
• Niacin: 13% of the RDI
• Riboflavin: 12% of the RDI
• Iron: 8% of the RDI
• Vitamin B6: 7% of the RDI
• Magnesium: 5% of the RDI
• Zinc: 4% of the RDI
• Phosphorus: 4% of the RDI

Diet Considerations

Grits are gluten free. However, it may be processed in factories that also process wheat. Check the labels to be sure there is no gluten.

Grits are edible by flexitarians, omnivores, vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians.

Grits are not on the Keto Diet for it is high carbs, as are most porridges. So if you are on a weight maintenance program skip the grits.

While grits are not specifically on the Mediterranean diet, polenta, in modest proportions is on the diet.

The grits themselves are considered filling and nutritious, but it is the toppings that will “kill you” (fatty, salty, high caloric, unhealthy).

Corn Specs

Grits, polenta and corn meal are all corn products. Cornmeal is nothing more than ground, dried corn. Of course we can buy cornmeal in a variety of grains, depending upon what we are going to make.

• Fine cornmeal is often called corn flour and I use this in cornbread.
• Masa or Masa Harina is used for corn tortillas or tamales and are made up of nixtamalized (alkaline treated) corn.
• Grits are mostly made of White Dent Corn, and once cooked it increases dramatically in volume, and is smooth yet gritty (if you cook it right, otherwise it can get lumpy.).
• Polenta is made of coarsely ground, yellow Flint Corn, which makes a grainy substance.

Grits are White and Yellow

Grits are made from a starchy, less sweet variety of White Dent corn. It is processed in lye (or other alkaloid chemicals) to remove the hull, dried and ground. Grits can also be made from Yellow Dent corn, but I have never eaten it, nor have I ever seen it in any local store.

Cooking Grits

Below are recipes for various grits dishes, but first, let me make a few observations.

By itself, grits as a very slight taste of corn, but most people will call it a mouthful of bland, textured pablum. The key is that grits are boiled and simmered in a liquid, usually water which adds no flavor. I make it with water alone only if I am going to add other ingredients to the porridge. So if I am making cheesy grits, I will cook in water. But some people make it with water and cream, water and milk, or cook the grits in a broth (chicken, or seafood).

To make grits sweet, add sweet things like sugar, syrup, fruit, etc. To make them savory, add savory things like salt, pepper, butter, cheese, bacon, etc. To make them fishy, add fishy (or even a dashi) broth, topped with shrimp or crabs, etc.

Quick Butter Grits

• Boil 1.5C water with 1/2t salt
• Slowly add 6T grits, mix well,
• Bring back to a boil, then lower temperature to low simmer, and lid the pot
• Mix every so often to keep it from clumping
• Cook for ~5-6 minutes
• Place in bowl with salt, pepper, and 2-3T salted butter

Quick Sweet-n-Fruity Grits

• Boil 1.5C water with 1/2t salt
• Slowly add 6T grits while stirring
• Bring back to a boil, then lower temperature to low simmer, and lid the pot
• Mix every so often to keep it from clumping
• Cook for ~5-6 minutes, turn off the heat
• Then add ~1-2T white or brown sugar
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 1/4C raisons

Quick Cheesy Grits

I have heard some folks add 1/4C cream cheese to make the grits creamier, not something I would do for cream cheese is just a mouthful of fat to me.

• Boil 1.5C water with 1/2t salt
• Slowly add 6T grits, mix well
• Bring back to a boil, then lower temperature to low simmer, and lid the pot
• Mix every so often to keep it from clumping
• Cook for ~5-6 minutes
• Turn off the heat and add 1/2C  Pecorino-Romano grated cheese, mix well and serve. (Most southern dishes I have eaten used cheddar cheese, but I like other cheeses as well.)

Quick Creamy Grits

• Boil 3/4C water, 3/4C milk or cream with 1/2t salt
• Slowly add 6T grits, mix well
• Bring back to a boil, then lower temperature to low simmer, and lid the pot
• Continue to mix for ~5-6 minutes (to prevent clumping or burning the milk/cream)
• Add 1/2C salted butter
• Cook for ~5-6 minutes, mixing well

Grit Cakes

• Boil 5C water and dash of salt.
• Add 1C (stone ground for better flavor) grits and reduce to simmer, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the grits are cooked.
• Lay them in a baking sheet, to cool in the fridge.
• Once cool + firmed, cut out the cakes, dust with flour.
• Fry in oil until browned a bit on both sides.
• Drain the oil, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Grits are the official food of South Carolina, and a regular dish at my home, cooked at least a couple times a month.

—Patty

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