Grits

Infobox Prepared Food
name = Grits


caption = Grits topped with butter.
alternate_name =
country =
region =
creator =
course =
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main_ingredient = Corn
variations =Hominy grits
Yellow speckled grits
calories =
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Grits is an American Indian corn-based food common in the Southern United States, consisting of coarsely ground corn. It is traditionally served during breakfast.

Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world such as polenta. It also has a lesser resemblance to farina, a thinner porridge.

Hominy grits is grits made from nixtamalized corn, or hominy. It is sometimes called "sofkee" or "sofkey" from the Creek word.cite book
last = Hudson
first = Charles
title = The Southeastern Indians
origdate = 1976
publisher = The University of Tennessee Press
chapter = A Conquered People
page = 498 ] [ [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/SO003.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, entry "Sofkey"] , retrieved 18 August 2008.]

Origins

Traditionally the corn for grits is ground 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 Southern U.S. used a gristmill up 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. In South Carolina, state law requires grits and corn meal to be enriched, similar to the requirements for flour, unless the grits are ground from corn where the miller keeps part of the product for his fee. [ [http://www.scstatehouse.net/CODE/t39c029.htm South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 39 - Trade and Commerce, Chapter 29] , retrieved on December 14 2007.]

Three-quarters of grits sold in the United States are sold in the "grits belt" stretching from Texas to North Carolina, also known as "the South". The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002. [ [http://sos.georgia.gov/state_symbols/state_prepared_food.html Georgia Secretary of State, State Prepared Food] , retrieved on December 14 2007.] Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina, with one declaring, "Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humour, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of South Carolina used to be the site of a grits mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world", if as Charleston's "The Post and Courier" proclaimed in 1952, "An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace." [ [http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess113_1999-2000/bills/4806.htm South Carolina General Assembly 113th Session, 1999-2000, Bill Number: 4806] , retrieved on December 14 2007.]

Yellow grits include the whole kernel, while white grits use hulled kernels. Grits are prepared by simply boiling the ground kernels into a porridge; normally it is boiled until enough water evaporates to leave it semi-solid.

ee also

*Cuisine of the Southern United States
*Cuisine of the United States

References