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sounds so good. I had grits about a month or so ago when out for breakfast but don't get them often. I don't know why, I love them, especially when they have a lot of bad for me stuff mixed in...
We attended World Grits Festival every year when we lived in SC and bought a sample from every vendor there. However, the best grits we've ever purchase did not come from the festival but from State Farmers Market in Raleigh, NC. Hands down the best in the South. Since we moved back to CA, I've been buying grits online (mostly Bob's Red Mill) and at specialty stores, but never could find anything close to the perfection of the one in Raleigh.
Grits and polenta (Italian), same thing. From what I know about polenta, it needs to be served once cooked or it sets up, quick. Italians spread it in a sheet pan, cool it, slice and fry it if not eating it creamy style. I like it with butter and parmesan cheese. Sweet Shrimp with Soft Polenta Recipe : Mario Batali : Recipes : Food Network
With all due respect, grits and polenta are not the same thing. Both are corn, but polenta is corn ground into meal (basic corn meal) while grits are ground hominy (the corn is turned into hominy, dried, and then ground). They are two different products with different flavors.
With all due respect, grits and polenta are not the same thing. Both are corn, but polenta is corn ground into meal (basic corn meal) while grits are ground hominy (the corn is turned into hominy, dried, and then ground). They are two different products with different flavors.
Ella
You might be right technically, but to me and the chefs I see on the food shows (Mario Batalia and others), they say the same that I posted, that they basically are the same. I've had both and to me, do not have different flavors.
You might be right technically, but to me and the chefs I see on the food shows (Mario Batalia and others), they say the same that I posted, that they basically are the same. I've had both and to me, do not have different flavors.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Since I come from Grits Country (the deep south), I find the distinction important. Yes, I, too, have heard some of the chefs use the terms interchangeably. However, not Paula Deen .
Polenta is the Spanish word for "corn meal". Now when one buys a bag of corn meal, it has the subtitle of "polenta". That is a fairly recent addition to the bag (a few decades). Before the advent of "polenta", it was just "corn meal". It has always been boiled in water to make a thick side dish, but instead of being called "polenta", it was called "cornmeal mush" or just "mush". It was a staple dish of the extremely poor and was routinely served to prisoners, mental patients, and other wards of the state. Commonly, it was served in a bowl and eaten like any hot cereal, and sadly, was usually a stand-alone dish. It was "back then", and is now, one of the cheapest dishes one can cook. That doesn't change with the name.
Restaurants were not serving boiled corn meal when it was called "mush", but once someone hit on the idea of using the Spanish name of "polenta", it became this new, chic, trendy, hotsy totsy side dish that people were paying a fortune for in big, fancy restaurants. How do chefs keep a straight face?
I wonder how many sales they would have had of plates of:
Three succulent lamb medallions served with two crispy green beans and two crispy carrot spears, and a serving of luscious cornmeal mush.....................................39.95
Well, again, sorry. The whole polenta/grits thing is so different. It is just one of those things where it should be separated.
Ella
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World Grits Festival
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