Grits -- a simple peasant dish of warm, creamy cornmeal; occasionally dirtied, mostly buttered, always textured, never instant (that’s heresy). They say, “A man full of grits is a man at peace.” True... true. I’ve found this dish, more so than any other, will induce a Southerner’s wistful thoughts of youth, breakfasts past, and usually their mother. Grits are well-loved by many -- it’s a dish of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Corn started in Meso-America and spread to Europe and the rest of the world from there, becoming a globally popular staple, especially in Africa, North & South Americas, and Europe. Although most countries have differing, and at times very innovative, recipes using cornmeal, it’s not surprising to find that many prepare a nearly identical, simple dish reconstituting the meal into a warm, creamy porridge-like consistency. In other words, grits are polenta, polenta is funchi, funchi is essentially sadza, etc. etc. -- same dish, different cuisines. Perhaps the name depends on what’s served with it.
I ordered both white & yellow grits from the Old Mill of Guilford in Oakridge, North Carolina. (Ask for Annie Laura Purdu -- she’s happy, helpful, and her accent makes the whole process even more delightful.) Guilford grits are the real thing done the old-fashioned, hard way, making them superior in flavor and texture. As with many grist mills, the Old Mill of Guilford was strategically built along a creek to utilize the water’s power. Corn is picked and dried, then husked and ground using stones. The ground corn is then passed through screens, separating the coarse grits from finer cornmeal. Steel ground cornmeal is stripped of the kernel’s husk & germ; whereas stone ground cornmeal retains some of the hull and germ, giving it more flavor, texture and nutrition.
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I played with my grits almost nonstop for two weeks, using various methods learned from online & cookbook gritiers before me:
• Texture of white vs. yellow. It could be a fluke, but the white grits always come out quite a bit more textured than the yellow ones; however, yellow grits include the whole kernel, whereas white grits are ground from hulled kernels -- don't know why. So, I float off the chaff of the white grits, but cook the yellow ones straight from the bag.
• Texture of milk vs. water. It seems, and there could be other varying factors, that preparing grits with a significant percentage of dairy (cream, milk, half&half) makes the cornmeal expand more, leaving less texture; and yet, less total liquid is needed. If the liquid used is 100% water or mostly water, additional water is almost always needed toward the end of the cooking process; whereas if the liquid is at least 50% milk, I never needed any additional liquid. Don’t know.
• Float away the chaff. Put grits in a large bowl or cup, fill with water & stir. Scoop or pour off the coarse bits that float to the top-- those pieces just don’t want to soften much and can ruin the whole dish. Repeating this process twice seems to work great, but no more than that, or there will be no texture to the finished dish. Again, I now float off the chaff of the white grits, but not yellow.
• Grits’ll wait. Recipes mostly suggest serving grits immediately to ensure creaminess, but I think they can be made in advance. While experimenting, I returned several times to a cooled, congealed pot o’ grits; but reheating & stirring with a bit of water, they were just as creamy and textured. In fact, sometimes a brief sitting time seemed to make the grains more evenly cooked, but with the same amount of texture. Again, don't know -- just fiddling around.
• My very favorite flavor secret. I finally figured this out the day after my chef dinner (of course, the day after!) Coaxing as much flavor out of the grits without compromising its natural corniness, I tried varying amounts of water, cream, milk, butter (melted in before and/or stirred in after), and salt, sometimes Frenching them up with a pinch of nutmeg, white pepper and cayenne. Many times they were flat and needed acid. Lemon juice obliterated the corn flavor every time. My recent chef dinner was Southern themed, and I must’ve had buttermilk on the brain (probably because that & pork is in everything). A tiny drizzle of buttermilk gave the final dish a creamy lift without covering up the natural corn flavor. It was a beautiful thing! (I must really like you to share this information.)
Online Sources for Stone-ground Grits:
Old Mill of Guilford, Oakridge, North Carolina
Falls Mill, Tennessee
Carolina Plantation, South Carolina
Wade’s Mill, Raphine, Virginia
Louisiana Pride Grist Mill, Louisiana
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