# Let's Talk About Grits, Baby. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555 "2013-08-30T01:39:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/61 "2013-09-04T18:11:47Z")
You would be guessing correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/62 "2013-09-04T20:52:37Z")
Cheese. Butter. Bacon. _drops mic, walks away_ ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/63 "2013-09-04T21:08:31Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not sure about corn meal mush, but I’m guessing it’s just the more finely ground version of grits. Probably not made from hominy. Corn meal mush is polenta. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/64 "2013-09-04T21:11:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 😕 Southern style sausage, cracklin’, country style ribs, pork butt, and fry it in lard - my husband thinks pork belly and bacon are gods gift to dining…☹ I think its all rather disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/65 "2013-09-04T21:15:12Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Corn meal mush is polenta. Sorta. They share a common ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/66 "2013-09-04T23:12:09Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > So southerners–is there a difference between “grits” and “corn meal mush”? Because to my mind they’re the same thing. Grits are ground hominy. Mush is cornmeal cooked in rapidly boiling water. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/67 "2013-09-06T01:56:30Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > So I always thought that I hated grits. I tried them when I was a kid, and I distinctly remember them having a nasty taste to them, so I never had them again. Until a couple of weeks ago, at a dinner we went to, I had some jalapeno cheese grits, and they were awesome. So I started making them at home, and I use [this recipe](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/boy-meets-grill/jalapeno-cheese-grits-recipe/index.html). Oh my god, it’s so good. > > Do you like or dislike grits? I still have a sneaking suspicion that there might still be a nasty taste if you just had them plain, or with just butter and sugar or whatever. True or false? Do you have any special recipes for them? I’d never eaten them before, I only recently learned that Grits is Polenta. I made some last night using that recipe you posted, with added bacon (chopped small and cooked in butter first) and substituted the Jalapenos for Habenaros. Very tasty. Thanks for that.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/68 "2013-09-06T03:24:10Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Grits are ground hominy. Mush is cornmeal cooked in rapidly boiling water. Which is more like polenta, isn’t it? This is what I don’t understand. I like grits. I like polenta. They taste quite different to me, so I don’t get the whole grits = polenta thing. Although the grits I’ve had are always hominy grits, so far as I know. Hominy, while made from corn, tastes quite different and has a different texture. I can easily understand someone liking one and not the other. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/69 "2013-09-06T08:18:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Which is more like polenta, isn’t it? > > This is what I don’t understand. I like grits. I like polenta. They taste quite different to me, so I don’t get the whole grits = polenta thing. Although the grits I’ve had are always hominy grits, so far as I know. Hominy, while made from corn, tastes quite different and has a different texture. I can easily understand someone liking one and not the other. What am I missing? > **[Grits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits)** > > Grits are a type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried maize or hominy, 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 as a breakfast dish. Grits can be savory or sweet, with savory seasonings being more common. Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta, mielie The w... Polenta that you can buy in Aus is the closest thing. It works. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/70 "2013-09-06T12:05:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Which is more like polenta, isn’t it? > > This is what I don’t understand. I like grits. I like polenta. They taste quite different to me, so I don’t get the whole grits = polenta thing. Although the grits I’ve had are always hominy grits, so far as I know. Hominy, while made from corn, tastes quite different and has a different texture. I can easily understand someone liking one and not the other. What am I missing? Quite different? At best, I’d say they taste very, very slightly different, and might have a different texture. There are so many different grinds, it’s easy to find polenta and grits that are ground to a similar size. To me, most of the flavor difference comes from the differnet ingredients added. Polenta is often made with herbs, parmesian cheese, and chicken stock, which changes the flavor rather dramatically from the milk and water usually used in grits. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/71 "2013-09-06T13:02:19Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Quite different? Well, “quite different” in the sense that cornmeal and masa harina are “quite different.” I personally find those two ingredients to be different enough not to be interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/72 "2013-09-06T13:15:52Z")
Well, hominy grits and masa harina are different products, though. Masa is ground, then dried, while the opposite is true for grits. Plus, masa harina is ground very, very fine. I find it to be more bitter, for some reason. A lot (maybe most) of the artisinal grits produced by local mills in the South is not made from hominy. They’re just ground from dried corn. ETA: Here’s a [source](http://ansonmills.com/products/8) for both. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/73 "2013-09-06T13:45:09Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Well, hominy grits and masa harina are different products, though. I think you misunderstood my analogy. It was supposed to be more like polenta:hominy grits::corn meal:masa harina. Or you could even add corn:hominy to that. Products made from hominy vs corn taste very different to me. > [@](#): > > A lot (maybe most) of the artisinal grits produced by local mills in the South is not made from hominy. They’re just ground from dried corn. I suspect this is the issue. As I said above, I think all grits I’ve had have been of the hominy type, so the constant comparison to polenta and insistence it’s the same thing is odd to me. It’s a bit like saying white rice and brown rice are the same, or that soup made with corn vs soup made with hominy are the same. I like both, but they are not quite interchangeable for me, and I understand liking one and not the other. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/74 "2013-09-06T13:51:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I think you misunderstood my analogy. It was supposed to be more like polenta:hominy grits::corn meal:masa harina. Or you could even add corn:hominy to that. Products made from hominy vs corn taste very different to me. > > I suspect this is the issue. As I said above, I think all grits I’ve had have been of the hominy type, so the constant comparison to polenta and insistence it’s the same thing is odd to me. It’s a bit like saying white rice and brown rice are the same, or that soup made with corn vs soup made with hominy are the same. I like both, but they are not quite interchangeable for me, and I understand liking one and not the other. They aren’t exactly interchangeable items, no. I think the point people are trying to make is that they’re similar enough that it’s almost ridiculous to claim one is fantastic while the other is just terrible. The vast majority of people who like one will usually like the other, provided a similar level of quality between the two products. On top of that, a lot of people who eat grits on a regular basis don’t really know or care too much about the difference between grits made from hominy and grits made from regular corn, leading me to believe that the suble flavor differences really don’t matter that much after you’ve added all the other ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/75 "2013-09-06T15:16:45Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > They aren’t exactly interchangeable items, no. I think the point people are trying to make is that they’re similar enough that it’s almost ridiculous to claim one is fantastic while the other is just terrible. The vast majority of people who like one will usually like the other, provided a similar level of quality between the two products. > > On top of that, a lot of people who eat grits on a regular basis don’t really know or care too much about the difference between grits made from hominy and grits made from regular corn, leading me to believe that the suble flavor differences really don’t matter that much after you’ve added all the other ingredients. Ah, I also tend to eat grits and polenta very plain. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/76 "2013-09-06T15:23:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah, I also tend to eat grits and polenta very plain. :eek: Like, cooked in water and served with salt? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/77 "2013-09-06T15:57:24Z")
Inspire by this thread, I had grits for breakfast this morning. I had some maple and bacon cheese I bought last week. It works real well when you chop some up and stir it into your grits. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/78 "2013-09-06T16:13:32Z")
Unlike Vinnie, I do not like my grits _al dente_. I think that may be an issue with the “I don’t like grits, I like polenta” crowd. IME, grits are served soupy, often with rather noticeable hard gritty bits (hence the name?) floating around. I make mine so each grit is softer, but the whole pot is much stiffer in texture, so the result is a bit more uniform. I generally avoid restaurant grits that are so loose they’ll run all over your plate. I also just start my grits in cold, salted water, so I don’t have to worry about clumping. They seem to come out just fine, so I don’t know why all recipes demand that you sprinkle ever so carefully into boiling water. Am I doing something heretical and wrong? I like mine with a bit of cheddar cheese, a tiny bit of cayenne, and fresh ground black pepper. And agreed, Bob’s Red Mill are very good, but (shhh) I often use Quaker Quick (not instant!) Grits when I’m feeling both cheap and lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/79 "2013-09-06T16:20:19Z")
Grits, like good risotto, should slowly crawl when plated. It shouldn’t be a mound, nor should it run everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555/80 "2013-09-06T16:26:18Z")
“What are those?” “Hell, them’s grits, boy!” “They’re _moving_, man.” -George Carlin [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-grits-baby/667555.md?page=5)