It is time to get down to the nitty gritty~ about grits!
A Savannah reporter said that grits are as international as the Savannah/ Hilton Head International Airport. He obviously has not met our Slow Travel crowd...because we prove that everything is international. Including grits!
A little history about the grit, which are ground kernels of hominy, a variety of corn meal. In the south it has long been a staple at the breakfast table. More recently grits are becoming a trendy accompaniment to up-scale cusine.
Southern Living (THE magazine of the south) has refered to grits as the redneck risotto. If you think of it that way, it adds a little class...or does it? It is similar in many ways to polenta, which is also a cornmeal base that is so popular in Northern Italy.
Stone ground grits are cooked slowly and have a rich corney flavor and smooth texture. They can be cooked with broth or with cream, adding spices or cheese for flavor.
If all of this talk of grits is still not enough to get you to try our southern favorite, you can spend the afternoon shopping at True Grits~ a great little gift shop in Savannah!
Join us for the Great Slow Travel Gathering -Savannah, Georgia- April 4~6, 2008 Sandi
Incidentally, Sandi, when Doyle and I were in London recently for a day-and-a-half, we went to the British Museum to see a special exhibit, "A New World - England's First View of America." which consisted mostly of paintings depicting the English settlers encounters with the native people living there. "There" was called "Virginia," but it really was Roanoke Island, NC.
Anyway, one of the pictures showed a group of native people over a large pot cooking what was described as hulled corn kernels in liquid. Although it didn't say so, Doyle and I immediately recognized this description as hominy (though not grits).
One thing I discovered when we moved to the south--I love grits
Well, Jan, it all depends on how they are made, whether at home or in a restaurant. One of our big complaints is when grits are too runny, that is, with too much liquid. They shouldn't be dry, though, but soft and firm. At least, that's the way we prefer them. I like them with cheese, too, or red-eyed gravy. Getting hungry!
BTW, in addition to the place mentioned on the link Sandi posted above - Fall's Mill, you can get good stone-ground grits from Mabry Mill, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, or from Guilford Mill, in Oak Ridge NC, near Greensboro, or, perhaps, from your closest Mast General Store or definitely online . Doyle prefers the latter and gets them at the original Mast Store in Valle Crucis NC.
I also see that at the Mansion cooking class they will be learning to make shrimp and grits with a red eye gravy. That recipe is a souvenier to take home from Savannah!
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