Editing Grits

{{Short description|Porridge of boiled cornmeal}}
{{About||the Canadian political party colloquially known as the Grits|Liberal Party of Canada||Grit (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Grits
| image = Grits1.jpg
| caption = Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with [[bacon]], [[scrambled eggs]] and [[Toast (food)|toast]]
| type = [[Porridge]]
| main_ingredient = Ground corn
| place_of_origin = [[United States]]
| variations = {{ubl|Hominy grits | Yellow speckled grits | Cheese grits|Fried grits}}
}}
[[File:Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and poached egg.jpg|thumb|Grits with cheese, bacon, green onion and a basted egg]]

'''Grits''' is a type of [[porridge]] made from coarsely ground dried [[maize]] or [[hominy]],<ref name="USDA">{{Cite web |title=Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Chapter 4 Grains |url=https://foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov/Content/TablesFBG/USDA_FBG_Section4_Grains.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2023}}</ref> the latter being maize that has been treated with an [[alkali]] in a process called [[nixtamalization]], with the [[pericarp]] (ovary wall) removed. Grits are cooked in warm salted water or milk. They are often served with flavorings<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Moss |first=Robert |title=The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South |url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/shrimp-and-grits-southern-food-history.html |access-date=March 21, 2017 |work=[[Serious Eats]]}}</ref> as a breakfast dish.  Grits can be savory or sweet, with savory seasonings being more common. Grits are similar to other thick maize-based [[porridge]]s from around the world, such as [[polenta]], {{lang|af|[[pap (food)|mieliepap]]}}, and [[mămăligă]]. The dish originated in the [[Southern United States]] but is now available nationwide. Grits are often part of the dinner entrée [[shrimp and grits]], served primarily in the Southern United States.<ref name="auto" />

The word "grits" is derived from the [[Old English]] word {{lang|ang|[[Grit (grain)|grytt]]}}, meaning "coarse meal".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=grits |access-date=August 27, 2011 |title=grits |work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> In the [[Charleston, South Carolina]] area, cooked hominy grits were primarily referred to as "hominy" until the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Matt |last2=Lee |first2=Ted |title=Iconic Southern Plates: Lowcountry Shrimp and Grits |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/grains/grits/low-country-shrimp-and-grits |website=[[Southern Living]] |access-date=3 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Huguenin |editor-first1=Mary Vereen |editor-last2=Stoney |editor-first2=Anne Montague |title=Charleston Receipts |publisher=[[Junior League]] of Charleston|year=1950 |page=153 }}</ref>

== Origin ==
The dish originated with the Native American [[Muscogee]] tribe using maize.<ref name= deepsouth>{{cite web| url = http://deepsouthmag.com/2014/10/01/shrimp-and-grits-a-history/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307231435/http://deepsouthmag.com/2014/10/01/shrimp-and-grits-a-history/ | archive-date = March 7, 2016| title = Shrimp and Grits: A History |work= Deep South Magazine| date= October 1, 2014 |publisher= Deep South Media, LLC |access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans, and it quickly became an American staple.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wulff|first=Alexia|title=A Brief History Of Grits| url= https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/a-brief-history-of-grits/|access-date=2021-07-31|website=Culture Trip|date=November 7, 2016}}</ref>

At that time, maize or hominy for grits was ground on a stone [[mill (grinding)|mill]]. The ground material was passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits.<ref>{{Cite news| work= Newsday| place= Melville, New York | title= Burning Questions: Kernels of Truth on Ground Corn |last= Marcus| first= Erica| date=3 May 2006|publisher=Knight Ridder Tribune Business News|page=1|via=ProQuest}}</ref>

Three-quarters of the grits sold in the U.S. are bought in the South, in an area stretching from Lower Texas to [[Washington, D.C.]], that is sometimes called the "grits belt".<ref>{{Cite book| first = Charles L.| last =Cutler|title =Tracks that Speak: The Legacy of Native American Words in North American Culture| publisher = Houghton Mifflin|year =2002|location = Boston| page = 28| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CfekuKBLfpIC&q=grits+belt+map&pg=PA28|isbn =0-618-06510-5}}</ref>  The state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.<ref>{{cite web| website= sos.georgia.gov| url= http://sos.georgia.gov/state_symbols/state_prepared_food.html |publisher= Georgia Secretary of State| title= State Prepared Food| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080829193358/http://sos.georgia.gov/state_symbols/state_prepared_food.html |archivedate= August 29, 2008 | access-date= December 14, 2007}}</ref>  A similar bill was introduced in South Carolina to name it the official state food,<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess113_1999-2000/bills/4806.htm |title= South Carolina General Assembly 113th Session, 1999–2000, Bill Number: 4806 |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature| access-date= February 12, 2017}}</ref> but it did not advance.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Bill And the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, By Adding Section 1-1-703 So As To Recognize Grits As the Official Food of the State. Session 113 - (1999-2000). 4806 General Bill, By Altman |url= https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4806&session=113&summary=B |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature |access-date=22 June 2019}}</ref> Nevertheless, South Carolina still has an entire chapter of legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits.<ref name=sclaaw/> State law in [[South Carolina]] requires grits and rice meal to be [[Food fortification|enriched]], similar to the requirement for flour.<ref name=sclaaw>{{cite web |title=Code of Laws. Title 39. Trade and Commerce. Chapter 29. "Corn Meal and Grits" |url= https://www.scstatehouse.gov/query.php?search=DOC&searchtext=grits&category=CODEOFLAWS&conid=25854106&result_pos=0&keyval=18965&numrows=10  |website=scstatehouse.gov |publisher=South Carolina Legislature |access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>

Grits may be either yellow or white, depending on the color of the maize used.  The most common version in supermarkets is "quick" grits, which are made from non-hominy maize and have the germ and hull removed.  Whole kernel grits are sometimes called "speckled".<ref>{{cite news | last1=Lee | first1=Matt | last2=Lee | first2=Ted | date=April 26, 2000 | title=A Taste of Charleston; Corn's Highest Calling: Grits | work=[[The New York Times]] | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/26/dining/a-taste-of-charleston-corn-s-higher-calling-grits.html | access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref>

== Preparation ==
[[File:Gritsonly.jpg|thumb|upright|Prepared grits]]
Grits are prepared by mixing water or milk and the dry grits and stirring them over heat, if one uses [[cornmeal]], the food is called [[Mush (cornmeal)|mush]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/how-to-make-grits/|title=How to Make Grits|website= [[Better Homes and Gardens (magazine)|Better Homes and Gardens]]| via= bhg.com |language=EN|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-grits-p2-995707|title=Cornmeal vs. Grits vs. Polenta|website=The Spruce Eats|language=en|access-date= 2020-02-10}}</ref> Whole-grain grits require much longer to become soft than "quick grits".

== Dishes ==

[[File:Bowl_of_Grits.png|thumb|Creamy bowl of grits]]
Grits are eaten with a wide variety of foods, such as eggs and bacon, fried [[catfish]], [[Shrimp and prawn as food|shrimp]], [[Salmon as food|salmon]] [[croquette]]s, or [[country ham]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/southern-grits-how-to_n_6043290|title=How To Cook Grits Like A Southerner|date=2014-10-29|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref>

[[Shrimp and grits]] is a traditional dish in the coastal communities in the [[South Carolina Lowcountry]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia's]] [[Lower Coastal Plain (Georgia)|Lower Coastal Plain]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/shrimp-and-grits-southern-food-history.html| title= The Surprisingly Recent Story of How Shrimp and Grits Won Over the South |website= seriouseats.com| first= Robert |last= Moss| date=May 13, 2020| language= en| access-date= March 15, 2022}}</ref> <!--"A variation of the dish is also consumed for breakfast in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis in peninsular [[Malaysia]]. It is a traditional breakfast dish." ← left hidden until verified source can be proven to cite-->

Solidified cooked grits can be sliced and fried in [[vegetable oil]], butter, or bacon grease to make fried grits, or they can first be breaded in beaten egg and [[bread crumbs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justapinch.com/recipe/leah-stacey/southern-fried-grit-patties/other-breakfast| title= Southern Fried Grit Patties| website= justapinch.com | publisher= Just A Pinch Recipe Club | first= Leah |last= Stacey| language= en|access-date= March 15, 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Food}}
* [[Bugas mais]]
* [[Creamed corn]]
* [[Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
* [[Cuisine of the United States]]
* [[Farina (food)]]
* [[Groats]]
* [[Hasty pudding]]
* [[List of porridges]]
* [[Mush (cornmeal)]]
* [[Polenta]]
* [[Mămăligă]] 
* [[Semolina]]
* [[Three Sisters (agriculture)]]

== References ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Cookbook|Hominy Grits}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}

{{Corn}}

[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Porridges]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine of the Southeastern Woodlands]]
[[Category:Bahamian cuisine]]
[[Category:Soul food]]
[[Category:Staple foods]]
[[Category:Maize dishes]]
[[Category:Symbols of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Muscogee culture]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Thirteen Colonies]]