Talk:Grits

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[edit] Alternate or Alternative

These are two completely different words. Collectively the United States seems to be completely unable to learn the distinction, which is quite a simple one, really... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.79.175.13 (talk) 20:39, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sweet Tea

Why the link to Sweet Tea? Is this a drink especially commonly taken with grits? If so, that should be mentioned in the article. If not, the link seems out of place. - Molinari 20:54 1 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Hey now

Hey now, Micheal Tinkler, don't start something with NC. We eat grits the way the rest of ya'll do, with salt, pepper, cheese, or bacon. Maybe some others try weird things, but thats not the norm up here. I've lived here all my life and so have my parents and grandparents. By the way, most bbq is either tomato based in the western part of the state, and vinegar based in the eastern part. Mustard may be out there, but its not common. Also, many people out of the South have not heard of grits, much less tried them. We should go out and propogate a correct image of grits to the rest of the country, none of this brown sugar mess.

[edit] Polenta

So isn't this just a dialect word for polenta then? Chameleon 14:56, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

-I think grits are actually ground hominy. This is what I've always been told growing up in Oklahoma.

Unsigned comment was not me.
Yes, proper grits are ground hominy, although most of what's sold as grits today are actually polenta. I almost corrected the article, but looking in the revision history it looks like this has been done MANY times before and one particular editor keeps reverting inaccurate texts. I don't feel like an edit war right now. Arker 21:12, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

Is that slashdot reference at the end really pertinent to the article? The topic is only tangentially related to the topic, and references a rather minor and childish aspect of a completely unrelated topic. I’m sure there are many wikipedia users that consider slashdot to be the most important website in the history of the universe, but that section just seems painfully out of place to me. --160.39.194.52 03:05, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Yes, and done! Thanks for calling attention to this silliness that has afflicted Wikipedia of late. Pollinator 13:40, Sep 29, 2004 (UTC)

It was me ... I had read the Slashdot Trolling Phenomena page, and didn't know what grits actually were. So after I found the page, I linked back to the 'hot grits'. I guess at the time I figured it was a fun fact about an otherwise uninteresting food. I'm happy with your decision to remove it. Cheers guys! Ppe42 08:52, Oct 6, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] G.R.I.T.S.?

This is colloquial? I've never in my life heard anyone use it, outside of one rather poor and off-colour website. Arker 21:09, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

My sister has a G.R.I.T.S. hat, I think it's something like Girls, Inc. -- Darth Katana X


G.R.I.T.S. stands for Girls Raised In The South. It is a franchise started by Deborah Ford who has written several books such as "Puttin' On The GRITS" Georgia Gentleman

[edit] Grits mill?

"Almost every community in the South had a grits mill until about a generation ago, with families bringing their own corn to be ground, and the miller retaining a portion of the corn for his fee."

Okay, well, first of all, they were grist mills, not grits mills - of that one, I'm 100% certain - I did some work at a restored grist mill as part of a re-enactment community some years ago. Also, not all grist mills sieved their grist into meal and grit. Many were sophisticated enough to have adjustable grindstones - when the stones were set closer together, they produced meal, and when they were spaced, they produced grits (or hominy, depending on who you talk to).

Second, how do we define "generation" here at Wikipedia? Because, unless we're defining "generation" as 50-60 years, then the above statement isn't accurate. The last "community" grist mills closed up shop for regular operation back in the early '50's, and nearly all of them were out of business and out of existence by the early '40's. This is from personal experience, not from any source, so I can't really document it. If anybody has some more definite backing, that would be appreciated.

Reading that way the article's written, it makes those of us from "down here" sound like we're living in a bunch of hayseed little towns that just recently stopped having hitching posts out in front of the General Store where we could buy penny candies and sorghum molasses in bulk rather than in cans, when we've actually been - for the most part - eating "store-bought" grits for three of four generations. I don't disagree with the image that we milled corn - that's accurate. But I'd really like to see some language that reflects an accurate timeline - maybe something like, "Until the early parts of the 20th century, most rural areas in the Southern United States were served by a local grist mill, where local farmers could take their corn crop to ground. The miller would produce the desired 'grist' from the farmer's shelled crop, and retain some portion of the crop in payment." Any disagreement on this change?

-- Lee Greenway, Macon, Georgia (nonregistered user)

I agree with you 100%. And, for the record, we still had a community GRIST meal here as late as 20 years ago. I know, because I took grain there regularly until it shut down.
I think there may even have been a revival since the last of the old-time ones shut down - there's been a real revival of interest in the old ways lately.
At any rate, I'm quite disgusted with this page, but looking at history I see the errors have been corrected many times - and inaccurate texts reverted many times. If you feel like cleaning the thing up, I'm in favour. Perhaps you should register an account and be ready for some attacks, however. Arker 16:36, 25 October 2005 (UTC)
Since this controversy arose, I've talked with two old time millers, who ran mills in this area (SC - the heart of grits country) until they shut down. Also a couple of old farmers who remember taking corn to the mill. They all agreed that it is GRITS mill, not grist. There may be regional variations, but you can't get more southern than here. Pollinator 04:31, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Actually they are almost universally known as 'Grist Mills'. It might be pronounced 'grits mill' in localities of SC, but its spelled 'Grist', as a grist is the thing which comes out of the mill, be it corn grits, or corn meal, or wheat flour. I live in the heart of Appalachia, and have been all over the south from here to FL and all parts in between and have never seen a restored 'grits mill'.I have seen plenty of 'grist mills'. I have a couple operational grist mills not 10 miles from my house. In certain localities, it might be 'grits mill' because thats all they ever ground was corn, and indeed a certain set of stones on the mill might be setup specifically for 'grits' isntead of meal.

BTW, Hominy grits was a product often considered inferior. The best grits and corn meals (especially in Appalachia), socially, were made of white corn. Yellow corn was animal feed. If you came to school with yellow corn bread, it meant your pappy was either lazy and didn't provide for his family, or an idiot who didn't plant enough eating crop, forcing you to eat animal fodder, and therefore didn't provide for his family. If you came to school with yellow corn bread, you ran behind a tree somewhere with the other kids who had yellow cornbread, or alone if possible, and ate it as quick as possible so as to avoid teasing.

Somewhat of a solution, then, was to 'Hominy' the corn, which which you could do with cheap, yellow corn, thereby stripping off the husk and lightening the kernel, making corn meal that was a step above animal fodder, but still 'socially lacking'. --B.ellis 19:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A Breakfast Food...?

Hello, where's the guide for the real Grits? You know, the band Grits? I see that less popular bands aren't graced by professional articles, or articles at all here, but Grits is a popular band! I suppose I should write it myself. -- Darth Katana X

[edit] Grits are popular food in Southern Manchuria

Grits made from corns are popular food in Southern Manchuria where they are called "gezi (geh-zi)".--Manchurian Tiger 18:29, 2 February 2006 (UTC) Yes, you should. --Quasar 15:42, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Use of Grits in Fiction

We need to start a collection of these, starting with My Cousin Vinny and the instant grits line.--BohicaTwentyTwo 18:24, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Roots, too, with the, "Grits, dummy!" line. -- 12.116.162.162 21:41, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Yes, an 'in (popular) fiction' section should be added. --Safe-Keeper 20:25, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] grits w/ butter,sugar (white), and milk

5-21-06: I MOVED TO DALLAS,TX APPROX 8 MOS AGO. I WENT TO A SMALL 24HR CHAIN RESTAURANT THAT HAS GRITS AS AN INCLUDED SIDE ORDER WITH PRETTY MUCH EVERY PLATE. SO, I HAD GRITS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE (AT AGE 41). I HAD VAGUELY HEARD OF GRITS NOW AND THEN IN MY LIFE BUT HAD NEVER SEEN THEM IN A RESTAURANT (I'M FROM NEW MEXICO-BY THE WAY NEW MEXICO IS NOT PART OF MEXICO, IT IS ONE OF THE 50 STATES OF THE USA) AND ALTHOUGH THEY WERE ON THE SHELF BY THE OATMEAL AND CREAM OF WHEAT I JUST NEVER THOUGHT OF TRYING THEM. WELL, WHEN THE WAITRESS BROUGHT THEM OUT, SINCE I HAD SEEM THEN BY THE ABOVE MENTIONED ITEMS AT THE STORE AND HAD NO IDEA HOW MOST PEOPLE EAT THEM I DOCTORED THEM UP LIKE I DO OATMEAL OF CREAM OF WHEAT (JUST A BIT OF BUTTER [MARGARINE REALY], A BIT OF SUGAR [WHITE], AND A LITTLE MILK). WELL OF COURSE IT WAS JUST LIKE EATING A BOWL OF CREAM OF WHEAT PRETTY MUCH AS THE FLAVOR WAS DOMINATED BY THE ADDED INGREDIENTS (YES I KNOW ONE IF FROM CORN AND THE OTHER FROM WHEAT). I LOVED IT! I ACTUALLY WENT TO THE STORE AND BOUGHT GRITS FOR MY HOUSE!

I SAW THAT ONE PERSON ON HERE STATED-I HAVE NEVER PUT CHEESE ON MY CREAM OF WHEAT. WELL, TRY IT, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT. I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER TRY GRITS THE WAY MOST PEOPLE EAT THEM AS I STARTED THE SWEET WAY AND THAT IS THE ONLY WAY I THINK OF THEM, AS A SWEET/CREAMY ITEM.

BY THE WAY, I HAVE FOUND OUT IN THE LAST 8 MONTHS THAT PRETTY MUCH NO ONE ELSE IN THE USA KNOWS ABOUT/EATS GREEN CHILE LIKE WE HAVE IN NEW MEXICO. IT HAS BEEN A STAPLE OF MY DIET SINCE I WAS A LATE TEEN AND WAS EXPOSED TO IT. IT IS REALLY, REALLY HARD TO FIND IN TEXAS. EVERYONE HERE KNOWS ABOUT RED CHILE (WHICH IS SIMPLY THE RIPENED GREEN CHILE) BUT NOT THE GREEN. I GET THE STRANGEST LOOKS WHEN TRYING TO FIND WHAT WAS AVAILABLE IN EVERY SUPERMARKET IN NM.


Woah, that makes my eyes hurt just glancing at it! If wikipedia doesn't have a rule against yelling, i think it should.. --Quasar 15:42, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Feel free to re-edit it, its obvious that the contributor was just trying to make a very sensible point about how they eat grits. Im sure you're eyes will survive. 86.143.216.241 20:13, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nutritional value?

Anyone have any info on the nutritional value of grits? Particularly the ones sold in supermarkets now, or the homony grits versus the yellow grits?

--Quasar 15:44, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ronnie Coleman?

What does ronnie coleman have to do with grits?

Nothing. Edits adding Ronnie are vandalism done by sockpuppets of danwat1234. Generally this user makes the same edits over and over again with different accounts - grits, buttocks and Ronnie Coleman are favorite targets. Yankees76 04:30, 14 July 2006 (UTC)


Ronnie Coleman likes to have White Hominy grits with 1 to 3 thin slices of cheddar cheese on top and egg whites mixed in.

So?

[edit] Grits photograph

The photo with the half-eaten chicken wing is gross. I know this is an encyclopedia, not a restaurant menu, but maybe someone who eats these things could take a prettier pic? heh.

i agree with this. it also doesnt provide a very clear picture of the grits. i've never eaten grits, and i dont know what it is in that picture. Admiralakbar 17:36, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
I didn't realise there was a half eaten chicken wing in the photo. I was too busy trying to work out who eats grits with a waffle and orange slice.Schaddm 03:40, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] In popular culture

Mention has to be made at least of my Cousin Vinnie, where Grits are an important part of story, since they in part help innocenting the youths (or "youss"). --WhiteEcho 05:20, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The facts of grits

Grits, 07:00, 3 September 2006, Cribcage, Meals - "Removed {fact}. No reason to single this out when nothing, including the "condiments and preparations" that actually DO claim to be common, are unsourced. Placed {Unreferenced}.)"

I moved the "meals" out into their own section, they were in the list of common things. And I singled out "squirrel" because it was (or rather I strongly consider it) derogatory. But I do agree that the whole thing needs citations. Just gotten a bit numb to it, because many articles I see need citations.

The squirrel article says "…until recently…", I accept that, and something like that phrase should be in the line of this article.--Charles Gaudette 18:41, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Condiments and Preparation

What is this, the postmodernist's guide to grits eating? Peanut Butter? Is this section just a place where anyone who is down to a sack of grits and some syrup in the pantry gets to throw in a bullet item?

Half of these concoctions you wouldn't feed to the pigs.

Is bacon a "condiment" or "preparation"? Neither I would say. A condiment is a sauce or relish or seasoning. Preparation is boiling or steaming or frying. Bacon is more accurately an ingredient or addition. "Crumble some smokey bacon on top." "Serve grits with ketchup that has been applied to a hotdog". Now THOSE are examples of "preparation".

What does this mean: "A variety is attained when other foods are in the grits." Huh? Of course a variety is "attained", you've just added another ingredient. That's what a variety is.

"These are common:" Are you kidding? There wouldn't be five people on the planet who eat apple butter with their grits. You really need to verify all of the people who actually eat ketchup with grits before you could possibly put it on the list of common condiments (at least it is a condiment).

Perhaps this section should be called "Weird Food Combinations Involving Grits Eaten by At Least One Person".

Cheers, Schaddm 04:16, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Condiments and preparations

Continuing the thread above, I think that the pointless section called "Condiments and preparations" should be removed. It is unsourced, and people will add whatever they like to their grits, that doesn't mean we should listify those toppings ad nauseum. (jarbarf) 21:42, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recipe

I deleted the recipe at the very end. It seems completely extraneous, especially as there is a link to the wiki cookbook site right there.Arbadihist 07:24, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Grits are not made from plantains

Someone put in a phrase saying that grits could also be made from "fermented plantains", which is obviously incorrect.

[edit] Singular versus plural

Someone keeps deleting the instructive paragraph about singuler versus plural, which addresses a question that is frequently asked. What's the problem here? I have restored it.

It looks like it's unsourced personal commentary and isn't encyclopedic. I've removed it as per WP:ATT--Yankees76 20:03, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
Well, it isn't either of those things, so I've restored it once again. Please note direct citations to sources Barbara Kafka and Lillian Hellman. And since when was not discussion of pronunciation encyclopedic?
Again - it's personal commentary. "Until recently, "grits" was considered singular" - says who? Southerners, seeing this erroneous usage in print, began assuming that it must be correct, and this usage has spread Who is this statement attributed to? It sounds alot like original research I'm also curious how a microwave cookbook could be considered a reliable source for an entire section on the pronunciation of grits? With regards to using Hellman as a source, Wikipedia is not the place for unpublished analysis or synthesis of published material.
I'd say the information in the entire section can be re-written minus the personal analysis and fit in one sentence that says something like "Grits may properly be used as either singular or plural in writing and speaking and and can be used with a singular or plural verb at the option of the speaker. [1] [2]. As such I've again removed the paragraph in question until the issue is addressed here. --Yankees76 22:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
Looks to me like the issue HAS been addressed here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.245.182.75‎ (talk • contribs)
Yes it has - as per WP:CITE, Any material that is challenged and for which no source is provided may be removed by any editor. As such I've removed this material is not being cited by a reliable source and being original research. Edit warring will not get your material included in to the article. I've proposed a solution above. --Yankees76 22:43, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Kerna/els

I was just about to "correct" kernals to kernels when I wondered: is this an Americanism or a typo? thought I'd better ask rather than provoke yet another anglo-american spellings argument. Totnesmartin (an interloping brit) 13:45, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Official State Food

The source for the "1973 South Carolina adopted grits as its state food" fact is a bill introduced in 2000 that as far as I can tell, never passed. The website for South Carolina: http://www.scstatehouse.net/studentpage/symbols.htm does not mention it either. Though a few other websites do so without sources and with the year 1976. Much more info is available on the fact that in 2002 Georgia adopted grits as its official prepared food.

edit: changed as such

164.62.7.74 14:20, 1 November 2007 (UTC) CBry

[edit] Soaked in Lye?

Isn't it true that hominy grits are made by soaking the corn in lye (perhaps to remove the yellow husk, as someone else has mentioned in this comments sections)? I always wondered how they can do that without making the grits poisonous. I looked it up on Wikipedia for an answer and was disappointed to find no explanation. Does anyone know about this lye business?