Grits

Grits — coarsely ground dried corn (hominy grits from nixtamalised corn, or stone-ground from dried corn without nixtamalisation) simmered in water or milk until thick and creamy — is the daily grain of the American South, as fundamental to the Southern table as rice is to the Louisiana table and poi is to the Hawaiian. The word likely derives from the Old English *grytt* (coarse meal), but the food itself is indigenous American: the Muskogean peoples of the Southeast were making corn porridge (*sofkee*) long before European contact. The adaptation into the Anglo-Southern breakfast staple occurred through the colonial period. Grits today range from instant (a different product entirely) to artisan stone-ground (Anson Mills, Geechie Boy, McEwen & Sons) — the quality difference is as vast as the difference between instant coffee and single-origin pour-over.

A thick, creamy porridge of ground corn, cooked slowly with water, milk, or a combination, finished with butter and salt. Stone-ground grits should retain the character of the corn — individual particles visible, a faintly gritty texture (the namesake), and a genuine corn flavour. The colour ranges from pale ivory (white corn) to golden (yellow corn). The consistency at serving should be thick enough to mound on a plate but loose enough to spread slowly under its own weight.

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