Senior Citizens: Can you please explain to me what 'Grits' are, that Americans have with their breakfast?

At it's most basic, Grits are just dried corn kernels that have been coarsely ground & then boiled in water to thicken.

My grandparents had a farm & one of the things they grew was corn.

The corn was used in many ways, but only so much could be eaten or canned up for later.

The rest dried on the stalk & was stored in the shed.

To make grits, the dried kernels were removed, ground & boiled.

I liked mine thick enough to make clumps when stirred up.

I added a big pat of butter, salt & pepper to eat.

Packaged grits at the store have become so processed that they are unpleasant for me to eat.

I began looked for coarse ground corn meal to my own, but sometimes, even that has sat so long on the grocer shelf that it looses it's fresh flavor. (Or it's been de-germed, which is the most nutritious part of the corn.)

When I'm not in a hurry, I buy a bag of popcorn (which is nothing more than intact, dried corn kernels) & I pour some into my electric grinding mill. I mix 3 tablespoons (15 ml.) of the ground corn & add 1 cup (240 ml) of water into a bowl. Place this in microwave at 50% for 5 minutes. Stir and continue cooking another 5 minutes at 50% power. (Can't do this too fast because the dried corn needs time to soak up the water.) Remove. Stir. Add condiments & eat. That's how you can make them yourself.

Grits are a southern dish. I love them and was raised on having grits every morning for breakfast. They are good with eggs, butter and toast. I have lived in North Carolina all my life and it surprised me to know that most people from the north did not know about grits. My son in law is from Maine and will not touch them. It is a matter of taste I suppose. Poppy

Grits are coarsely ground dried corn that have been simmered in liquid; water, milk, or sometimes broth. Grits are very similar to grit gruels, porridge, and are a bit coarser than polenta. Colonists in America (and later early settlers moving inland away from the east coast) learned to make grits from the Native Americans; like the Creek tribe.

Grits can be made from yellow corn or white corn; that has been dried and ground. I prefer the stone ground types of grits. Hominy and Hominy grits have an extra step; this type of grits have been soaked in lye or a lime solution to soften the outer shell of the corn. It can take from 20 minutes to 2 hours to simmer a pot of grits, depending on how coarsley the grits have been ground and the type of corn used.

I will have grits with eggs and a meat for breakfast once in awhile; there are a few restaurants near my home that prepare grits very well, and not the pasty glop that some folks reject.

I also love cheese grits, shrimp grits, creole grits with seafood and chilis, there are many ways to serve grits.

You might be able to mail order a package of grits from the U.S. or you could look for coarsely ground dry polenta and use a grits recipe.

added in edit: Your question prompted me to make grits this morning; I boiled coarse ground yellow grits with chopped onion and leftover turkey, seasoned them with a few drops of olive oil and spicy cajun seasoning, and I had an egg and some diced tomato on top of the grits. I love grits served with tomatoes!

I have always thought it was ground corn/corn meal. Like ground wheat.cracked wheat - like cream of wheat. In our family we made hot cereal/mush. Sprinkled with sugar - cinnamon - buttered - pouring milk on the cereal.

We made polenta - using corn meal cereal recipe. Pour in to a loaf pan - cool in the refrigerator - when it sets up - slice it and fry it. We liked it fried - covered with sauerkraut - chopped sausage with flavored tomato sauce on top.

We also make corn bread - using corn meal. The recipe on the box is good - if you add just a bit more sugar.

I love corn bread with a bowl Chili and a bowl of Jello.

The true grits are probably dried ground Hominy. Hominy is dry corn that is soaked in lye water. The lye eats the dry corn until the skin and the little "nib" at the point comes off. Then you have puffed up hominy.

There is white corn/hominy and there is yellow corn/hominy.

Hope this helps some. If not - type in 'how to make hominy? You will find a web site to give more detailed info.

My Granny was raised in Tennessee. She called it their staff of life. She made all of the above and I loved her cooking.

It is somewhat complicated.

DeeJay.

First it is not something that is common on American breakfast tables. They are common in the Southern part of the US and it is dried ground corn, it is a courser grind than corn meal. Grits are cooked and served like a hot cereal or they are put in a round mold, cooled, sliced and fried and used in place of potato in a bacon egg type breakfast.

Ground corn ground more coarsely than cornmeal, made into a hot cereal. It can be eaten with sugar and milk or butter, or brown sugar and butter. It can also be made into a casserole with cheese. I had never had grits until I moved to Arkansas and I have them all the time now. I like them with butter and a few raisins, a piece of toast, and coffee.

I am an American and I never liked "grits" my mom made them just a few times when I was a kid.

One of those dishes that I feed to the dog when mom wasn't looking.

Prefer something like cream of wheat ceral to grits.Suppose I am just a "yankie" from the NE and don't get what's so good about them.They seem like something one would feed the pigs, not for human consumtion.

It is a southern side dish that is usually eaten with eggs and bacon/sausage, toast. We usually put a little butter and sugar in it at the table. Some southerns like a little cinnamon and sugar in theirs. They are best made with milk instead of water.

Northerners (in the USA) do not like them. I always have to laugh when you hear them talk about "grits".

I suppose the best was to describe grits would be to compare them to a porridge made of ground white corn. Served hot, they are flavorless, but most of us doctor them up with brown sugar or cheese or butter or any combination of things that appeal to us. They are probably dear to Southerners because they were all that stood between us and starvation in the sad days during and following the War of Northern Aggression that some call the Civil War and during the Great Depression. Food that sustains life in hard times is often appreciated with a fondness that exceeds it's true merit.

Now days, GRITS stands for Girls Raised In The South.

Grits are hominy(white corn) treated with lye then ground. Then they are cooked in water, chicken broth, milk, etc.... They are delicious as they are or with butter, bacon, cheese, or drenched in gravy. A lot of grits recipes have garlic and tiny shrimps in them. They are a staple of the American South.