h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was offered grits a couple of times when I was visiting the states but they didn't look like the same dish at all. What are grits made of, and how should they look?

I've never actually had them, but my uni's dining hall serves them often (US Northerner going to school in the South). I always think they look sorta like very fine cottage cheese, but sort of grey rather than white. I haven't the slightest clue what they're made of, and don't intend to find out.

Boiled up coarsely ground corn by all accounts - A760150

grits are small broken grains of corn which were first produced by native americans centuries ago. There are 'Corn' grits and 'horminy' grits. They can be used in recipes for bbq, meats, breads, breakfast, samiches, casseroles, seafood, deserts, soups and salads among other stuff. There is an interesting website on grits on the net. In fact there are more than one. But I am not sure whether I am allowed to mention the site address on here.

Mmmm... ok, you can make then the usual way, as a kind of mush, and serve with butter and salt and pepper, ooorrrrrrr...

My mom did this once, I'm not sure how, but basically she put it in a small 5 inch long by 3 inch wide by 3 inch deep pan and let it set until is was kinda firm, like a think pudding, and then sliced and fried it... then it was served with maple syrup... oh man it was good, but she hasn't done it since, unfortunately...

have you asked your mum how it is made so that you can have a go at making it or suggest she makes some again and emphasize how much you liked what she made.

I think I've asked before and for some reason she couldn't/wouldn't...

hmmmmmm maybe its a family secret

Yeah, and I'm not family, I guess....

I mean you will get told eventually but not yet

You may have all moved on in your lives, and put your quest for the true nature of grits behind you. But if not...In my family grits are fairly disgusting greasy masses of greyness. They involve salt pork, apples, oatmeal, and various spices. First you boil this mixture to cook it the first time, and after that you fry however much you plan on eating. It has a sheen to it, and a quite distinctive smell. There's another kind of grits too, but I don't know anything about them...

Scottish Americans call grits "corn meal mush" and usually use a yellow corn meal rather than the white corn meal that's more popular in the south.

That was breakfast for me five days a week for four years during my late pre-teens, usually with a pat of butter or margarine and sugar, sometimes with fresh fruit or preserves, sometimes refried after boiling.

In the deep south, you may find it served at any meal of the day, often in lieu of potatoes, plain, flavorings added to taste if you want them, a good time to take your calcium tablet if you use calcium tablets, since calcium unlocks the vitamins in the grits (or any cereal grain) and makes them more absorbable.

Hominy is the base of many grits formulations and is most commonly either yellow or white in the American marketplace, commonly served as a boiled whole grain divested of the cuticle, or bran, or sometimes roasted and salted like nuts.

One can usually turn up red hominy in the Mexican markets, if you don't mind preparing it yourself from the raw cereal grain.

There is also a blue variety I've seen employed only in tortilla chips.