# Southern Dopers, I need help with grits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717 "2014-10-08T01:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/61 "2014-10-09T00:31:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Not saying anyone is trying to be misleading–but I suspect most folks don’t know that hominy is just corn treated with lye, so when someone says that hominy tastes distinct from corn, it sounds a bit as though hominy isn’t corn, y’see? Definitely they taste different, just as cornbread tastes different from spoon bread, even though they’re both made from corn, just as polenta tastes different from grits, even though they’re both made from corn. All I’m saying. Again, not saying anyone is trying to be dishonest or anything, just clarifying a point that may need clarifying. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to give that impression. They are most definitely both made of corn. I was trying to use the masa vs cornmeal example with the assumption that it was understood that both are corn products, but I could have made that more clear. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/62 "2014-10-09T01:09:29Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > You ain’t from below the Mason-Dixon line, are you son? He’s not from around here. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/63 "2014-10-09T01:12:14Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > But, how many of his other books do you have? Hmm? > > Points to you for even knowing who he is. _Simple Cooking_, _Mouth Wide Open_ and _Serious Pig_. _SP_ is where is stole a really good baked beans recipe. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/64 "2014-10-09T01:35:33Z")
Coffee is in a lot of recipes I’ve run across. From a meat marinade, to making a BBQ sauce, and even brownies. I use it a lot when making a brine for pork, poultry, or beef. Subtly enhances the flavours without becoming over powering. ymmv, of course ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/65 "2014-10-09T01:38:54Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Coffee is in a lot of recipes I’ve run across. From a meat marinade, to making a BBQ sauce, and even brownies. > > I use it a lot when making a brine for pork, poultry, or beef. Subtly enhances the flavours without becoming over powering. > > ymmv, of course I don’t do it myself, but my brother makes a very nice dry rub for steaks that includes coffee in it. It’s pretty damned good. I will very occasionally use coffee in some types of chili, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/66 "2014-10-09T05:02:12Z")
I’ve tried stone ground corn meal from [Norah Mill in Helen, Georgia,](http://www.noramill.com/) Jim Dandy grits, Dixie Lilly grits, Quaker Oats grits and Kroger store brand grits, and I’ve never been able to taste a dime’s worth of difference in any of them, so I just by the Kroger store brand as it’s cheaper. I use a fair amount of butter, a TON of black pepper, and a little salt. Some of the Mrs. Dash salt substitutes will enliven a bowl of grits nicely, even if you don’t need to control your blood pressure – I’m particularly fond of the Southwest Chipotle. Also, don’t make a ton of it. I find that 2 tbsps of grits and one half cup of water makes a nice full serving. Grits are a big glob of carbohydrates, it does not take a lot to fill you up. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/67 "2014-10-09T10:43:08Z")
When I was a boy my dad one day brought home a number 10 can of hominy. Mom put it into a pot with stewed tomatoes, and served it up as our side dish for dinner that night. That was the night I decided that hominy was not actually made out of food. Several years later I heard of grits for the first time. And the label said “hominy grits.” That was when I decided it grits were not made out of food. In recent years it has occurred to me that I may have been mistaken about this. I still haven’t tried them yet, though. But the whole deal about being introduced to them as a breakfast food has me wondering. For over 50 years Tony the Tiger and his friends have been telling us that breakfast cereals are supposed to be sweetened. Why are grits exempted from this rule? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/68 "2014-10-09T10:48:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But the whole deal about being introduced to them as a breakfast food has me wondering. For over 50 years Tony the Tiger and his friends have been telling us that breakfast cereals are supposed to be sweetened. Why are grits exempted from this rule? Because Tony the Tiger’s a yankee. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/69 "2014-10-09T12:21:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Because Tony the Tiger’s a yankee. Yep. But I think the same is obviously true about the guy you responded to. I can tell because he doesn’t like hominy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/70 "2014-10-09T13:01:13Z")
I believe grits is one of the things we began eating during Reconstruction. Folks who are poor and eat ground corn can’t afford sugar. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/71 "2014-10-09T13:01:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But the whole deal about being introduced to them as a breakfast food has me wondering. For over 50 years Tony the Tiger and his friends have been telling us that breakfast cereals are supposed to be sweetened. Why are grits exempted from this rule? Oatmeal can also be eaten savory or unsweetened (really, any hot breakfast cereal can pretty much go either way.) Regular oats is just cooked with water and a pinch of salt, after all. I like to have mine occasionally with a poached or fried egg, some scallions, and a bit of hot sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/72 "2014-10-09T19:57:51Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Piggly Wiggly stores are all independently owned and operated. The sale you read about is just for the 17 located in SC and some of GA. They will continue to be called Piggly Wiggly, just under new ownership. > Or, as my wife calls them, The Pig & Wig. We call them Hoggly Wogglies. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/73 "2014-10-09T20:02:45Z")
Cue Wet Willie: “If I don’t love you baby Grits ain’t groceries, Eggs ain’t poultry, And Mona Lisa was a man!” ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/74 "2014-10-09T21:13:27Z")
Re Tony the Tiger. A few years back, before I ran the DeathPool, I got points as a player for the guy who was the voice of Tony from the time he first appeared, to just a few years before his death. His name was Thurl Ravenscroft. Don’t know why he wasn’t big onscreen, the guy not only had a great voice but looked good too! You will have heard him doing _“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”_ in _How the Grinch Stole Christmas._ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/75 "2014-10-09T21:31:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe grits is one of the things we began eating during Reconstruction. Folks who are poor and eat ground corn can’t afford sugar. 🙂 [This article](http://www.cookcfb.org/articles/entryid/60/history-of-grits) and wikipedia both say grits originated with Native Americans. Well duh. But apparently the term had been used for other similar grain concoctions in Europe. I have no idea when it became a staple for a Southern breakfast, but I’d assume it was pretty popular going back before the Civil War. I recall something about breakfast cereal becoming more popular in the late 19th-early 20th century due to a glut of horse feed as mechanized transportation became more popular. I’m not sure if that’s true, or if it applies to grits if it is true. Dried corn keeps better than other grains so in the rough days of Reconstruction it may have been the grain most available, and grits is a simple dish just requiring the ground corn and water. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/76 "2014-10-09T21:39:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [This article](http://www.cookcfb.org/articles/entryid/60/history-of-grits) and wikipedia both say grits originated with Native Americans. Well duh. But apparently the term had been used for other similar grain concoctions in Europe. I have no idea when it became a staple for a Southern breakfast, but I’d assume it was pretty popular going back before the Civil War. I recall something about breakfast cereal becoming more popular in the late 19th-early 20th century due to a glut of horse feed as mechanized transportation became more popular. I’m not sure if that’s true, or if it applies to grits if it is true. Dried corn keeps better than other grains so in the rough days of Reconstruction it may have been the grain most available, and grits is a simple dish just requiring the ground corn and water. I spoke with a history teacher about my theory, ham bones, tripe, ribs, etc. and she suggested finding pre Civil War restaurant menus. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/77 "2014-10-09T21:48:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [This article](http://www.cookcfb.org/articles/entryid/60/history-of-grits) and wikipedia both say grits originated with Native Americans. Well duh. I’ve seen the bones of Native women and the shoulders and backs are horrible from the being hunched down over those grinding stones. I’m assuming peasants in antiquity and the pre water milling days were as well. I swear I’d try eating dried leaves and grasshopper shells before I wanted anything that badly. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/78 "2014-10-09T22:13:45Z")
Not a Southerner but during the 1980s I was there frequently. I distinctly remember being told by more than one person that the only acceptable ways to eat grits was with one or more of the below: Runny eggs. Hot sauce. Butter. Black pepper and salt. Sausage or bacon, including the resulting grease. Cheese. Damn, I am hungry now. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/79 "2014-10-09T22:49:28Z")
Has anyone ever made popcorn grits? I saw it a few times on menus and cooking shows. I think the method is, make popcorn, soak in water, push through sieve. I could do that! But SHOULD I? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717/80 "2014-10-10T00:04:27Z")
I’ve had shrimp and grits at a wedding. The shrimp was, I think, in a sauce (and I cannot remember for the life of me). The grits were triangular wedges, deep fried to a crisp brown, like potato patties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-dopers-i-need-help-with-grits/700717.md?page=5)