Grits - sizes and types? [General]

2012 Nov 9
Last night I had the cheesy grits at Union 613. The grits were really big and the dish was almost macaroni & cheese like. I have never had grits like this and always think of them as gritty and soupy. Can this type of grit be bought or is it something that you make? I did a quick google search and didn't see anything similar. The extra-large grits still looked pretty small.

2012 Nov 9
The "grits" at Union are made with hominiy (the whole maize kernel) vs. true grits which are coarse ground corn.

2012 Nov 9
Thank you!

2012 Nov 10
This was simply Hominy corn, not grits. For it to be grits it has to be ground. To get Hominy, the corn has to be soaked in lye (or some other amino solution) in a process called nixtamilzation. This is why it is so white: all of the colour has been bleached out.

Here endeth the lesson.

2012 Nov 10
For what it is worth, the only place in town I have been able to consistently find coarse-ground polenta/grits was at Herb and Spice on Main St.

2012 Nov 10
Various grinds of corn are available at Mid-East food center on Belfast. I just bought some quite coarse #120 (2 kg - $4) but they have finer and coarser, the coarsest being a very coarse grind, likely in the 4 to 8 pieces per kernel of corn range, more like a cracked corn. I'm new to making grits, and have been using stone ground organic corn but bought the #120 for a little more coarse texture. Mine have not been gritty or soupy - maybe I cook them longer and/or stir more? My wife isn't crazy about them but I aim to win her over!

2012 Nov 10
Andy try this recipe. My wife did not like grits either until she tried this.
www.simplyrecipes.com

2012 Nov 10
Ha! Ken that's 1 of 3 I bookmarked earlier today. Happy to have your recommendation for it. Thanks.

2012 Nov 11
@Rizak

"To get Hominy, the corn has to be soaked in lye (or some other amino solution) in a process called nixtamilzation."

I think you meant alkaline rather than amino solution.


2012 Nov 11
D'OH! At least I remembered nixtamilzation, though I even spelled that wrong.
Nixtamilization. There.
Alkaline. Also there.

2012 Nov 25
Coarse grits from Mid East Food center on Belfast Rd.

2012 Nov 25
And here's a pic of some leftover cooked cheesy grits (using Alton Brown's recipe). The coarse grits were much more to dw's and dd's liking, with lots of chewiness to the thick grits and good flavour from equal parts Kraft old and Balderson 5 yr old cheddars, and I had them with some ground dried Padron peppers for added flavour and heat, and we had a pork and ham meatloaf for the meat eaters with the grits . Leftovers were even more thick than the freshly cooked grits which were nicely thick.

2012 Nov 27
Herb & Spice on Wellington had a decent selection the last time I was in.