Grits

Grits, as a breakfast side-dish with bacon, scrambled eggs and toast
Type	Porridge
Main ingredients	Ground corn
Variations	Hominy grits Yellow speckled grits Cheese grits
Cookbook: Grits   Media: Grits

Grits are a type of porridge made from coarsely ground dried maize or hominy. ^[1] Grits are cooked in warm salted water or milk. They are often served with flavorings^[2] as a breakfast dish. Grits can be savory or sweet, with savory seasonings being more common. Grits are like other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta and mieliepap. . Grits are often part of a dinner entrée shrimp and grits in the Southern United States .^[2]

The dish originated with the Native American Muscogee tribe using maize.^[3] American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans.^[4]

At that time, maize or hominy for grits was ground on a stone mill. The ground material was passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits.^[5]

Three-quarters of the grits sold in the U.S. are bought in the South, in an area stretching from Lower Texas to Washington, D.C., that is sometimes called the "grits belt".^[6] The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.^[7] South Carolina has legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits.^[8] State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour.^[8]

Grits may be either yellow or white, depending on the color of the maize used. The most common version in supermarkets is "quick" grits, which are made from non-hominy maize and have the germ and hull removed. Whole kernel grits are sometimes called "speckled".^[9]

Grits are prepared by mixing water or milk and the dry grits and stirring them over heat, if one uses cornmeal, the food is called mush.^[10][11] Whole grain grits require much longer to become soft than "quick grits".