Re: I Can't Find Grits at the Grocery Store.

[Tom]

Go to that link given earlier www.grits.com and click on "what is a grit?   It explains it ....kinda.  There are all kinds of corn but hominy grits is made from field corn. Corn meal is just ground corn.

Creamed Corn?   That stuff is good.  All it is is corn.  You boil you some corn and then cut some niblets off of the cob.  When they are off you scrape the cob with the knife and the corn's "cream" comes out of the opened kernal.  

The purer the cream the better the creamed corn.  There are even implliments made that are used to produce pure creamed corn.  You stroke a bunch of little knifes down the corn to open the tops of the kernals and then a spade looking thing on the back pushes the "cream" out of the kernal.  You catch it in a bowl, salt and pepper it and folks at the table will practically smack their eyeballs out with their tongue.

[Dangerous_Dan]

With all this talk of grits around here, some saying that its a tasty treat that will warm your belly, and others saying it tastes like sawdust, I figured I'd get dangerous and try some, but I couldn't find nothin' called grits at the grocery store.  :'(
DanG-
Yer always flappin' about the goodness of grits, what's yer favorite brand? Are some brands yummy and others taste like sawdust?

[Paschale]

Sounds like a great grocery store to me!    :P :D

[GareyD]

D_D and all the rest of ya grit challenged folks north of the line

Ya might wanta check out this link....

http://www.grits.com/fallmill.htm

[Jeff]

I'm sorry to say, but they even have grits in OUR grocery stores. I found this out by accident just a couple days ago, and in a moment of shear terror THought they had replaced my oatmeal with thos things. I then realized that they didn't replace my oatmeal with grits, they just moved them and made room for those THINGS. WHEW!

[D._Frederick]

Jeff,

Are you a rolled oats eater by choice or by direction? I was told years ago that I should eat them for health reasons, but have hated rolled oats for years. Have you found a better way than just milk and sugar? I can down mine if I have fruit with it, like canned peaches,apple sause. I like ham, eggs,potatoes much better!!

[DanG]

I don't really have a favorite brand. It don't seem to matter much. Grits is grits.  Not a whole lot they can do to make one brand better than another. I usually just buy the cheapest ones.

[Swede]

I´ve also been looking for Grits in the stores here but can´t find.  :'(  
Most of them has sawdust for pets cages! ;) Didn´t buy any.

Swede.

[Pete J]

You guys that can't find grits at your local store can make your own with this simple reciepe.


1 cup corn meal.
1 cup sawdust (hardwood only)
1 cup beach sand
1 cup mortar mix
1 cup boiling water

Mix all the ingredients together and then add some butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Set the bowl to the side for 10 minutes while you make yourself and egg and cheese sandwich.

Eat the sandwich and then get back to work.

[DanG]

Boy it ain't no wonder you Yankees don't like grits, if that's the way you been makin' them. Ya can't use beach sand!

[GareyD]

Well dang it, I guess it's time for...

The Ten Commandments of Grits

   1.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits
   2.Thou shalt not eat thy Grits with a spoon
   3.Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits for this is blasphemy
   4.Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors Grits
   5.Thou shalt only use Salt, Pepper, Red Eye Gravy, Butter and Cheese as toppings for thy Grits
   6.Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits!
   7.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits
   8.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits
   9.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits
  10.Thou shalt not put sugar on thy Grits either

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
GareyD

[shopteacher]

If'n ya can't find them at the grocery store try the feed store. :D If'n there aren't any in the feed store look out back where the floor sweepings are. Same difference. ;D

[Ga_Boy]

Jeff is one of them close grits eater.   Why else would he have gotten so upset when the store folks moved them on him.

Dan,

Look in the brakefast food isle at yer store.  But be real careful with them things.  Once you eat em it will be real hard to quite; just like eating p-nuts.

[sawguy21]

Cream of wheat!!!! THAT'S what grits reminded me of. No wonder I wouldn't like 'em

[Jeff]

D._Frederick, I have been eating oatmeal all my life. We cook it up not with white sugar, but brown sugar, and enough to make it sweet. Top yer bowl off with just a ring of milk. All that brown sugar probably nullifies anything good it may do for you. :D

I used to eat malt-o-meal when I was a kid and loved it. Tried it a couple of times in the last few years and either I don't hold the secret mom had on how to make it, or my tastes have really changed. BLECK!

[Woodcarver]

Gary_D, I'll have to pass the Commandmants along to my wife.  She is the grits eater in our household.  She usually eats them with fruit, milk and sugar.  ;D    

[Dangerous_Dan]

Does the box say "Grits" or is their a proper name for them? Maybe a forum member with a camera who has a box could  post a picture so I know what I'm lookin' for. Thanks

[Tom]

Dan,
There are many manufacturers of Grits.  One of the most common is Dixie Lily.  You will also see Quaker but use them only if you can't find the real thing.  Quaker makes Instant Grits.....Ye c-c-h-h-h-h!

Quick Grits aren't too bad but the instant stuff should be reserved for those who are starving to death.

Grits are usually sold in a paper bag with the top sealed by either glue or a band of wire.  The best are Hominy Grits.  That means that the husk and germ are removed before grinding.  It is accomplished by soaking field corn kernals in Lye water  until they swell and burst the husk.  They are then dried and ground to a white, course meal.  

You can buy grits in grinds of Course, Medium and fine.  Medium it the most popular but I really do like Course.   The fine grind hasn't a pleasant texture in my mouth and even though they taste OK, I shy away from them.

The industry uses some heavy high speed mills to make grits now and they produce a product that has a burned taste to a trained tongue.

Look for "water ground" or at least "water ground style" to get the best corn taste.

Around here the Grits are usually kept on the same aisle as the flour or corn meal.  Ask you Grocer where they are.  Any Grocer worth his salt should know where the grits are kept.  If he doesn't know what Grits are, then you should change Grocery stores before he tries to sell you feed unfit for human consumption.

[isawlogs]

Tom
  don't get upset about my next question....Being from the north, is cornl meal and grits one and the same  ??? If not whats the difference aint crushed up corn crushed up corn : ???

[sawguy21]

Grits sound like a first cousin to creamed corn in a can which I only eat if nothing else is available.

[CHARLIE]

Dangerous_Dan, take it from a Southern Boy that ended up first in Minnesota and now in Wisconsin. Yankee grocers don't know nothing about Grits. Yankee grocers won't carry Grits unless someone asks for him to order some. Then they have no idea what to order and will always order Quaker Grits. You have to tell them not to bother with Instant Grits and then they'll order the Quaker Quick Grits.  Quaker ain't the best Grits but it's tolerable and about all you can get in the north.

Now, I figure a yankee that didn't know anything about Grits invented instant Grits. It don't even taste like Grits and shouldn't even carry the name. It is flavorless and taste like paste. Even feels like paste in your mouth. Eeeeech!  Anyway, never waste your money on Instant Grits.

If you can't get your grocer to order some, let me know and I'll see if I can't send you some. All I can get up here is Quaker though, but it'll do.  

Quaker puts their Grits in the round box that is like their Oatmeal box. On the front of it they print Quaker Grits.

[Dana]

I am only 100 miles from our Canadian neighbor's and grits are on our grocery store shelves. As was said it's in the oatmeal area. Nothing beats a breakfast of grits with butter,salt and pepper on them, and a side order of fried eggs and bacon.

[Gilman]

Well, after reading all those details about the con(DanG! I've got to open up MS Word to finish spelling this word) noisseur's of Grits, I'd have to assume I ate, or is it et?, instant grits at Waffle House and not the real thing?  If so, are those real grits really any better?  (apparently I am turning into an enabler of the Great Grits Debate)

[Fraxinus]

Hominy times do I have to say it.....grits ain't groceries. :D :D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

Hmm Grits.......well named ;D  Too be fair though, I've never eaten them. ;)