I grew up in the South...primarily Georgia and Florida, with a little bit of Alabama thrown in. And in the South, grits are a staple. Except for biscuits and gravy, just about every Southern breakfast features grits. And I guess the reason biscuits and gravy doesn't usually include grits is because nobody wants to mess up their grits by leaking sausage gravy into them.
And that brings me to the first thing you should know about grits -- it's plural. My grits are... NEVER My grits is.... (Unless you're a good-ole-boy, and EVERYTHING is "is.")
The story I heard about the origin of grits is that back in antebellum days, when corn was ground for cornmeal, the residue of partially ground bits were saved to give the slaves to eat. As the "mammies" who cooked in the house started feeding what they ate to the master's children, the kids grew up with a taste for grits, and so they became a Southern tradition.
Northerners just don't get grits. They think grits are bland and tasteless. Or they eat them like cream of wheat, with sugar and milk (Abomination!) A lot of yankees just don't even know what grits are.
Some years ago my dad was on a job in Boston. He supervised machinery erection for a company out of Atlanta, and occasionally it involved working on jobs outside of Georgia. He went in a little cafe up there and -- just to see what the reaction would be -- he ordered grits. He laughed whenever he remembered the look of confusion on the waitress's face!
My husband and I were with some New Hampshire friends in New Orleans some years ago. I cooked breakfast -- fried eggs and grits. My girlfriend loved it! She asked me how I cooked my grits. I told her I would send her some grits, with instructions on how to cook them. I mailed off a letter to her later, and got a letter in return mail saying, "I got the recipe. But you make reference to the bag of grits. Did you forget to send the grits?" And I had! I forgot the grits, and there are apparently none to be found in New Hampshire.
So, I'm going to tell you how to prepare grits... the way G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South) make them!
GRITS
First, buy a package of "Quick Grits." Do NOT buy "Instant Grits" -- they don't even taste like grits. Regular grits are okay, if you can find them. They just take a little longer to cook. But Quick Grits (5-minute) are what I use normally.
When you start breakfast (and grits is primarily a breakfast food), start the grits first. Pour water in a pan and set it on the stove, on medium or medium-high heat. Slowly pour in dry grits until there is a little "island" of grits as big as the palm of your hand. Stir. Go on making your eggs, bacon, toast....whatever else you want for breakfast. But keep an eye on the grits pot, and stir occasionally until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat to low, and stir frequently, until the grits reach the consistency of a sauce or pudding. There should be no lumps. Keep warm until the rest of the food is done, then spoon the grits onto each plate and top with a pat of real butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
That's it! If you're not comfortable with my seat-of-the-pants measurements, you can measure 1/4 cup of dry grits for each cup of water.
The down side of grits is that they are made from corn, and most of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified, to contain non-vegetable organisms. Back when GMO crops first entered the mainstream of American food, I got the number off the back of a sack of grits and called the company. I asked, "Can you tell me that your grits contain no genetically modified corn?"
"No," the lady replied, "I can't tell you that."
That day, I went from buying 5 pounds of grits a month for my family to buying ZERO. This persisted for some years, until our youngest son came home to live (he's 21), and he insisted he wanted grits. Now I buy them, but use them sparingly. I guess grits are like pork barbecue -- not good for you, but oh, so tasty!
And that brings me to the first thing you should know about grits -- it's plural. My grits are... NEVER My grits is.... (Unless you're a good-ole-boy, and EVERYTHING is "is.")
The story I heard about the origin of grits is that back in antebellum days, when corn was ground for cornmeal, the residue of partially ground bits were saved to give the slaves to eat. As the "mammies" who cooked in the house started feeding what they ate to the master's children, the kids grew up with a taste for grits, and so they became a Southern tradition.
Northerners just don't get grits. They think grits are bland and tasteless. Or they eat them like cream of wheat, with sugar and milk (Abomination!) A lot of yankees just don't even know what grits are.
Some years ago my dad was on a job in Boston. He supervised machinery erection for a company out of Atlanta, and occasionally it involved working on jobs outside of Georgia. He went in a little cafe up there and -- just to see what the reaction would be -- he ordered grits. He laughed whenever he remembered the look of confusion on the waitress's face!
My husband and I were with some New Hampshire friends in New Orleans some years ago. I cooked breakfast -- fried eggs and grits. My girlfriend loved it! She asked me how I cooked my grits. I told her I would send her some grits, with instructions on how to cook them. I mailed off a letter to her later, and got a letter in return mail saying, "I got the recipe. But you make reference to the bag of grits. Did you forget to send the grits?" And I had! I forgot the grits, and there are apparently none to be found in New Hampshire.
So, I'm going to tell you how to prepare grits... the way G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South) make them!
GRITS
First, buy a package of "Quick Grits." Do NOT buy "Instant Grits" -- they don't even taste like grits. Regular grits are okay, if you can find them. They just take a little longer to cook. But Quick Grits (5-minute) are what I use normally.
When you start breakfast (and grits is primarily a breakfast food), start the grits first. Pour water in a pan and set it on the stove, on medium or medium-high heat. Slowly pour in dry grits until there is a little "island" of grits as big as the palm of your hand. Stir. Go on making your eggs, bacon, toast....whatever else you want for breakfast. But keep an eye on the grits pot, and stir occasionally until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat to low, and stir frequently, until the grits reach the consistency of a sauce or pudding. There should be no lumps. Keep warm until the rest of the food is done, then spoon the grits onto each plate and top with a pat of real butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
That's it! If you're not comfortable with my seat-of-the-pants measurements, you can measure 1/4 cup of dry grits for each cup of water.
The down side of grits is that they are made from corn, and most of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified, to contain non-vegetable organisms. Back when GMO crops first entered the mainstream of American food, I got the number off the back of a sack of grits and called the company. I asked, "Can you tell me that your grits contain no genetically modified corn?"
"No," the lady replied, "I can't tell you that."
That day, I went from buying 5 pounds of grits a month for my family to buying ZERO. This persisted for some years, until our youngest son came home to live (he's 21), and he insisted he wanted grits. Now I buy them, but use them sparingly. I guess grits are like pork barbecue -- not good for you, but oh, so tasty!