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Grits

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This article is about the corn-based Southern U.S. food. For the Canadian political party, see Liberal Party of Canada. For the hip-hop artist, see GRITS. For other uses, see Grit (disambiguation).
Grits
Grits served with eggs, bacon and toast.
Alternative namesSofkee or Sofkey
Coursemainly a breakfast side-dish
Place of originUnited States South
Created byNative Americans
Serving temperaturewarm to hot
Main ingredientsground corn
VariationsHominy grits
Yellow speckled grits
Other informationSoul food

Grits is a food of Native American origin that is common in the Southern United States, mainly used in breakfast. It consists of coarsely ground corn (when grits is made from hominy, it is referred to as hominy grits). It is sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Creek word.[1][2] The name 'grits' is most likely to have derived from the Northern European grit gruels.

Grits is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta. It also resembles farina, a thinner porridge.

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 are fried in a fat such as vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease.

Origins

Grits have their origins in Native American 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 U.S. 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.[3]

Three-quarters of grits sold in the United States are sold in the South stretching from Texas to Virginia, also known as the "grits belt".[4] The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002.[5] 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."[6]

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 vaporizes to leave it semi-solid.

Other uses

Grits can also be used to get rid of vampires, hippies, drunks, cubans, and many other unwanted things. Another recently popular use for grits is to rub on unwanted hair. It is sometimes said 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;[7][8] however, laboratory tests conducted on fire ants suggest that grits are ineffective.[9]

Grammatical usage

Grits may properly be used as either singular or plural in writing and speaking and can be used with a singular or plural verb. [10][11]

The 1976 American sitcom, Alice, coined the popular catch phrase "Kiss my grits!", used as a snappy comeback by waitress, Flo, whenever she was verbally harrassed -- usually by the Diner's owner, Mel.

One of the more memorable scenes in the film My Cousin Vinny [12] 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 humorously traps Tipton in a contradiction by pointing out that the recipe for regular grits requires 20 minutes of preparation time, not five minutes. [13]

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.[14]

On November 11, 1990 Kid Rock released his debut album titled Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast. [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hudson, Charles. "A Conquered People". The Southeastern Indians. The University of Tennessee Press. p. 498. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Sofkey", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, retrieved 18 August 2008
  3. ^ South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 39 - Trade and Commerce, Chapter 29, retrieved Dec 14, 2007
  4. ^ Charles L., Cutler (2002). Tracks that speak: the legacy of Native American words in North American culture. USA: Houghton Mifflin. p. 28. ISBN 0618065105., retrieved Oct 25, 2009
  5. ^ Georgia Secretary of State, State Prepared Food, retrieved Dec 14, 2007
  6. ^ South Carolina General Assembly 113th Session, 1999-2000, Bill Number: 4806, retrieved Dec 14, 2007
  7. ^ "Ants: Indoor and Outdoor. FACTSHEET FROM SAFER PEST CONTROL PROJECT" (PDF). Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  8. ^ Nelson, Doyle (27 November 2007). "Amazing Non-toxic Organic Ant Killer". Retrieved 25 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); External link in |authorlink= (help)
  9. ^ Drees, Bastiaan. "Laboratory Assay of Effect of Instant Grits and Malt-O-Meal for Imported Fire Ant Control". Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  10. ^ "National Grits Festival Day" (PDF). Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  11. ^ Catledge, Turner (31 January 1982). "The Meaning of True Grits". Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  12. ^ http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/movies/MyCousinVinny.htm
  13. ^ Alton Brown. Recipe for Cheese Grits. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cheese-grits-recipe/index.html
  14. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=FiIXot_e10sC&dq=the+secret+life+of+bees&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=hKa7S8mwH4T9nAe4pY3KCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CDYQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  15. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1004636/a/Grits+Sandwiches+For+Breakfast.htm
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Look up grits in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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