Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mynx wanted to know




In a comment Mynx, our sweet friend in Australia wanted to know what are grits? 

Grits1.jpg






Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn (hominy). They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee (Creek) language word.[1][2] Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta, or the thinner farina.
Grits are usually prepared by adding one part grits to two-to-three parts boiling water, sometimes seasoned with salt or sugar. They are usually cooked for 15–20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the grits become a porridge-like consistency. As grits expand when they are cooked, they need to be stirred periodically to prevent sticking and forming lumps. They may be served with grated cheese, butter, sausage or country ham red-eye gravy. Grits have also been known to be served with fish such as fried catfish or salmon croquettes.

Red-eye gravy is a thin sauce often seen in the cuisine of the Southern United States and associated with the country ham of that region. Other names for this sauce include poor man's gravy, bird-eye gravy, bottom sop and red ham gravy. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham, bacon, or other pork, typically mixed with black coffee.

A common practice is to dip the inner sides of a split biscuit into the gravy in order to add flavor and keep the biscuit from being too dry when a piece of country ham is added between the two halves: the Southern "ham biscuit" (although the Appalachian ham biscuit is simply a biscuit with country ham).

7 comments:

  1. I tried grits in a restaurant in the South one time. It was just like Cream of Wheat.

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  2. I love hush puppies... or any other kind of puppies for that matter.

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  3. Thank you Odie. Not something we find where I am. It I am sure it is delicious

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  4. I always wondered what grits were too!! okay now..what are collared greens?? lol

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  5. We certainly don't have Grits over here in England! Thank you for the explanation my friend. I did smile at Shady's comment!

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  6. I'd love to try some! Especially the gravy made from coffee. I can't imagine that at all.

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  7. I'd never heard of Grits. :) We have Corn Flakes here in Australia, but nothing else...

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