Grits. Polenta. Mush. Hominy.....Explain the Differences to Me!

Any southerners out there? I need some help.

Here is what I know: Ground dry corn is called polenta and mush.
Dried corn that's been treated with wood ash, cal or lye is called hominy.

What the hell are grits?

Are grits the same thing as polenta? I've heard the term "hominy grits". Are these different than regular grits, having been treated? Or are all grits "hominy grits"? Is it regional within the south?

In Mexico, as we know, the process of removing the skin from the corn is nixtamalization. It makes the niacin available and stops the spread of pellagra, a vitamin deficiency disease heavy polenta eaters suffer from. Would heavy grits eaters suffer the same thing?

Any and old advice is welcome!

 

Comments

[Roberto]

polenta's cooked with stock. grits are typically a bit more coarse, and cooked with dairy.

[steve sando]

So they still have the skins on before they're ground?

[Nasv]

hey Steve, my understanding is that polenta is made with yellow corn meal that is cooked slowly and stirring and flavored (maybe) stock, cheeses, other fillers.

[Rusty Wright]

Grits are hominy that's been dried and ground or chopped into bits. So grits and hominy grits are the same thing.

[Rusty Wright]

Yes, grits are regional to the southeast US.

[Howard Q. Bikeman (USA::GA::ATL)]

Difference between polenta and grits is courseness. For ground corn - grits tend to be coursest, then polenta, and cornmeal is finest. Different versions of cooking and preparing all over. Our household cooks grits slowly with water (1:4), then a splash of milk or butter.

[Lumpynose.wordpress.com]

Read all about them here on good old wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits

[Artie]

In many ways, the difference between Grits and Polenta is simply semantic, or cultural. At a rough physical level, they are almost the same thing: ground corn cooked in a liquid until the larger pieces are done and the liquid has evaporated sufficiently and dissolved enough starch to achieve a thickened consistency. There are endless variations: corn types, age/dryness of grains, fineness of grind, liquids used, desired consistency, stirred or not, served wet or cooled and cut, etc. Any combination of the above can be styled as either Grits or Polenta mostly based on the intention of the cook and the context of the meal. For my own Southern purposes, the ideal side of Grits consists of roughly stone ground, recently dried corn, boiled in water/milk until loosely thickened, served with a pat of butter and set beside the rest of a proper breakfast (eggs, bacon, etc.) Correctly made, they are delicious and versatile.

[Barb]

If you go to college in Minnesota and call grits "polenta," your dorm buddies from the North will eat them and never notice the difference.

[Cricket]

The wikipedia article talks mainly about culinary preparation, but doesn't shed much light on the actual production of grits. I'm pretty sure that polenta is un-nixtamalized (as are all European adaptaions of maize), while grits definitely are, hence "hominy grits". Hominy and posole are the same thing, no? As Steve already knows, yellow/white has nothing to do with whether the hulls are intact, but depends on the genetic color of the corn.

[Marcsala.blogspot.com]

The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink says that "Whole hominy (great hominy) is the result of the alkaline (lye) process of removing the hulls. But the word 'hominy' refers to the dried and hulled maize kernels, coarsely ground and prepared for use. The term 'grits' or hominy grits, usually of white corn, refers to the fine-ground hominy used to prepare 'the potatoes of the South.'"

Although the lye process (nixtamalization) releases niacin, perhaps the process used in the American South isn't as effective as the one used in Mexico and the Southwest, as the Wikipedia page on Pellagra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellegra) says that "In the early 1900s, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the American South."

[Lori S.]

Grits are ground nixtamalized corn.

Coarse polenta does make a good substitute in a pinch, though.

[Jenna L]

To comment on Marcsala's comment, and to generally comment...

All grits in the South were nixtamalized prior to the Civil War. That step was eliminated in the poverty years following the war, mainly through food donations from those who didn't know the difference. Thus, the steep increase in Pellagra, since the Niacin was not available in the untreated corn. Honestly, corn which is not nixtamalized should not actually be called grits, as it is actually corn meal or polenta. Just as plain ground corn will not make a proper tortilla or tamale, plain ground corn does not make proper grits. The cooking methods and results do not match up between products.

I've seen some things labeled as grits, like from Bobs Big Red Mill. The label reads "Grits, also known as Polenta." ah, no, those are two different things.

Posole and hominy, as long as they are treated like their true namesakes, are one and the same. If one does not have access to proper grits, one could grind proper posole to make proper grits.

[Jenna L]

To make things more confusing, some farmers, mills, and specialty shops think that hominy and posole are actually just dried whole untreated kernels of flint or dent corn, also very incorrect. What this means is that a product may be labeled "hominy grits" when in fact you are looking at a package of untreated ground corn, or very coarse cornmeal. Communicate with your supplier to discuss their corn treatment methods.

There's grits or coarse grits, which take a good long while to cook, sometimes as much as an hour or more. Quick grits are grits that have been cut finer in order to cook faster, much like quick oats. The packages on these usually say to cook quick grits for 5 minutes, but "quick" grits really are better when cooked properly, which means about 30 minutes for "quick" grits. Instant grits are precooked quick grits, which have been prepared in such a way as to encourage very fast water absorbtion. Much like instant ramen noodles, they are deep fried or cooked then freeze dried.

Old style coarse grits take a while to cook, but taste amazing, much like a long-cooked steel cut oatmeal. Quick grits cooked for 30 minutes or so taste pretty darn good. Quick grits cooked for 5 minutes taste, well, gritty. Instant grits are a tasteless, horrid abomination.

[Jenna L]

I don't know if any of the major companies who make grits available on grocery shelves actually nixtamalize the corn prior to grinding. It's pretty much guaranteed that they're using GMO corn, since I've never seen organic grits sold by Aunt Jemima. Anson Mills is much like Rancho Gordo, but with Southern grains instead of beans. They make tasty organic grits, but I don't have an answer as to whether or not they treat the corn before grinding. (they do, however, carry a sensational product called rice grits, which is pretty much what it sounds like. It is way tasty, and I can't suggest their products enough, much like Rancho Gordo). The one very common thing you see amongst most grits in the south is that white corn is what is predominately used. In fact, Bobs Big Red Mill and one other more high end mill are the only ones I've seen selling yellow corn as grits. In all my restaurant experience,I have seen only one or two dine in joints using yellow grits. From what I understand, multicolor corn used to be the norm, but that was a long long time ago. Plantation owners (read: rich white folks) ate white corn grits for aesthetic reasons, same as rich people were the first to eat white bread. It was a status thing, and the laws of supply and demand eventually made the supply all white.

I personally have been known to order dried green or blue heirloom corn, process it with lime, and grind my own damn grits. I will grow my own as soon as I get a spot of land. Yes, it's worth the work.

[Jenna L]

In preparing grits to make them taste amazing, I suggest treating them like you would a risotto. That is, adding liquid to the simmering mix as the previous liquid is absorbed, stirring between additions to help achieve a creamy consistency. The batch you are cooking will dictate how much liquid you need, and that will vary from pot to pot.

For simmering liquid, cheapest is water, but only the cheapest diner-type joints will use water only. Broth, milk, cream, buttermilk, and butter used in any combination will give wonderful results. I commonly use homemade stock, whole milk, any half and half in the fridge, butter, salt, pepper, and herbs in the same pot. Thyme in the pot, followed by shredded cheddar stirred in at the end equals heaven. Pure heaven. Literally use whatever you've got handy. I've used chicken broth, veggie stock, lamb stock, and duck stock. Some folks toast the grits (like with risotto or couscous) in lard or butter before adding the simmering liquid.

One rule: USE A LID! Corn napalm hurts like crazy. Leave the lid slightly off, so that steam can escape, but you don't get splattered.

Another rule: when you have some liquid simmering, and you are not toasting your grits, add the dry grits only a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Do not dump the whole dose of grits in the liquid at one, because the grains will clump, and you'll have a heckuva time beating out the lumps.

[Jenna L]

Here are helpful links:

Pioneer Woman's risotto method. Use this method, and your grits will come out all right.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/04/risotto-one-of-lifes-great-triumphs/

Anson Mills page on how to cook their coarse grits, including a soaking option, like with beans. Buy their stuff. Amazing!
http://www.ansonmills.com/page19/page41/page41.html

This is a recipe and cooking method I have suggested to grit newbies, although my *shrimp* and grits recipe is superior. ;)
http://www.stephencooks.com/2006/02/shrimp_and_grit.html

Here's a super highfalutin' zillion ingredient recipe, but it is very very tasty. Mushrooms and grits match up very well!
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grits-with-wild-mushrooms-and-sherry-broth#

An LA Times point of view in grits, which is probably easiest for a non-southerner to grasp, since you don't know what you're aiming for in taste.
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/29/food/fo-grits29

And for the polenta fans, I give you the Pioneer Woman goat cheese polenta. Corn meal, water, goat cheese. SO TASTY!!! ( note, make extra, let the extra set firm in a pan. Slice, wrap the slices in prosciutto, and then pan fry the wrapped slices until the meat is crisp. Oh. My.)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/creamy-polenta-with-goat-cheese-heaven-on-a-plate-part-2/

[Jenna L]

(I apologize for so many responses, but the maximum comment size is set quite low, thus the 9 thousand posts...)

So, who the hell am I and how do I know all this? I'm a dyed in the wool Southern gal, who also happens to have grown up on her granddaddy's farm. I've made a pot of grits or two in my time. ;) I also do a lot of research on agricultural and historical food techniques, because I like to know what I'm eating. My research librarian husband finds it useful to aid in my research, mainly because he knows that his dinners get even tastier when I'm on a research roll.

Now, excuse me. I'm pregnant and hungry, and all this talk of grits means I'm headed to the kitchen. I have some leftover roasted chicken and some lovely shiitakes that are screaming to be put on buttery grits. With thyme and garlic. And butter. Did I mention butter?

[Rusty Wright]

Jenna, loved your posts; thanks for the information!

As a recent convert to pressure cooking (the new safe European pressure cookers) I can't help but wonder how grits would fare in a pressure cooker. I mostly cook things in the pressure cooker using the bain marie method, where you have a bowl with the food in it, sitting in the pressure cooker on its trivet with a few cups of water under it. This is how I cook rice or beans. If I had grits available here I'd try it that way with them.

[Rusty Wright]

I forgot to say that I had grits when I was in the Navy in training in Millington Tennessee (way back in the 70s). I loved them with fried eggs and bacon.

[Hilary]

I'm a Brooklyn girl - Southern by marriage - Grits is polenta made from hominy and is sooooo goood all cheesy with a fried egg on top. Or as a quick and handy alternative to polenta with stew upon it.

[web design Landon]

There are endless variations: corn types, age/dryness of grains, fineness of grind, liquids used, desired consistency, stirred or not, served wet or cooled and cut, etc. Any combination of the above can be styled as either Grits or Polenta mostly based on the intention of the cook and the context of the meal.