| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Sofkee or Sofkey |
| Place of origin | United States South |
| Creator(s) | Native Americans |
| Dish details | |
| Course served | mainly a breakfast side-dish |
| Serving temperature | warm to hot |
| Main ingredient(s) | ground corn |
| Variations | Hominy grits Yellow speckled grits |
| Other information | Soul food |
Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn (hominy). They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee (Creek) language word.[1][2] Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta, or the thinner farina.
Grits are usually prepared by adding one part grits to two-to-three parts boiling water, sometimes seasoned with salt or sugar. They are usually cooked for 15–20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the grits become a porridge-like consistency. As grits expand when they are cooked, they need to be stirred periodically to prevent sticking and forming lumps. They may be served with grated cheese, butter, sausage or country ham red-eye gravy. Grits have also been known to be served with fish such as fried catfish or salmon croquettes.
Grits can also be fried in a pan or molded to create a firm block; the resulting block can be cut with a knife or wire, and the slices fried in a fat such as vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease.
The word "grits" derives from the Old English word "grytt," meaning coarse meal.[3] This word originally referred to wheat and other porridges now known as groats in parts of the U.K., maize being unknown in Europe in the Middle Ages. The word "grits" is one of the few words that may properly be used as either singular or plural in writing or speech and can be used with a singular or plural verb.[4][5]
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Grits have their origins in American Indian corn preparation. Traditionally, the corn for grits was ground by a stone mill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer siftings being grit meal, and the coarser being grits. Many communities in the United States 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 from which the miller keeps part of the product for his fee.[6]
Three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are sold in the South stretching from Texas to Virginia, also known as the "grits belt".[7] The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002.[8] 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 humor, 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."[9]
Yellow grits include the whole kernel, while white grits use hulled kernels. Grits are prepared by simply boiling the ground kernels into a porridge until enough water is absorbed or vaporized to leave it semi-solid.
Folk wisdom contends that dry grits, scattered where ants can get at them, can be used to kill them by causing them to 'explode' as the grits expand inside them; however, laboratory tests conducted on fire ants suggest that grits are ineffective.[10]
Another popular variant of grits are Charleston-style grits, where the grits are boiled in milk instead of water to give them a creamy consistency.
One of the more memorable scenes in the film My Cousin Vinny[11] involves Vincent Gambini (Joe Pesci) questioning prosecution witness Sam Tipton (Maury Chaykin) on the stand. Tipton testifies that as he had begun to prepare breakfast (grits), he saw the defendants walk into a nearby convenience store, and as he was sitting down to eat, he saw them walk back out. He testifies that his breakfast took him five minutes to prepare, and thus there was not enough time for the defendants to have driven away and for two other men in a similar car to arrive at the store. Gambini first asks "How do you like your grits – regular, creamy, or al dente?". After getting a response of "regular, I guess", Gambini then asks whether Tipton cooks instant grits or regular grits, to which Tipton replies that "no self-respecting Southerner uses instant grits". Gambini then furiously but humorously traps Tipton in a contradiction by pointing out that the recipe for regular grits requires 20 minutes of preparation time, not five minutes.[12]
In the 2002 novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the narrator and protagonist Lily describes a punishment her abusive father routinely inflicted on her: kneeling on grits.[13]
On November 11, 1990, Kid Rock released his debut album titled Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast.[14]
Florence Jean Castleberry ("Flo") on the television series Alice became a waitress at Mel's Diner in Phoenix, Arizona, a roadside diner run by one Mel Sharples. Flo coined the popular catchphrase "Mel, kiss mah grits!"
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