THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502160020
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BETTY DOUGLASS, SPECIAL TO SUNDAY FLAVOR
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
A MOUND OF grits, puddled with a pat of butter, is the breakfast of Southern champions.
Sided with a pair of eggs, you get your daily cereal quotient without the shock of early morning cold milk poured over irritating crunchy flakes.
Sometimes called Southern Gold, grits began as an American Indian food, made by soaking corn in a water-lye solution to remove the outer hulls, leaving hominy. The hominy was then ground to make coarse grits.
``In the modern processing of grits, the hulls are loosened by soaking the kernels in water for several hours and are then pulled off by air suction, according to Bill Neal and Dave Perry's ``Good Old Grits Cookbook.'' (The University of North Carolina Press, 1985).
``Then the kernel is broken down into several pieces in a `degerminator,' and the germ and any remaining hull are removed. The remaining part of the kernel, the endosperm, is dried and then ground in a rolling mill. The finer pieces become cornmeal and the heavier pieces become grits.''
Grits usually are made from white corn, to please the Southern palate. In Ohio, where I was raised, we often ate cornmeal mush. It was yellow, and made from yellow cornmeal.
After I married, I was introduced to grits. I learned to serve them with just a dab of butter or a sprinkling of cheese, as a side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
If you're new to the South - and even if you're not - give grits a whirl.
They're available in three forms. ``Stone-ground grits'' are coarse and take about 40 minutes to cook, too long for most grits lovers - related are ``regular'' grits which take about 20 minutes to boil. Also available are ``quick'' grits, which cook in five minutes. Last are ``instant'' grits, which are simply mixed with boiling water and served.
Quick grits are the best to use for recipes beyond the morning bowl of white. They combine well with other ingredients and won't cook down beyond recognition.
In cooking all forms of grits, the general rule is four parts water to one part grits.
But don't stop with a bowlful of grits served plain, on the side. They make wholesome, hearty main courses, too. You'll even find them on the lunch and dinner menus of several area restaurants.
Consider Grits and Collards With Sauteed Red Snapper Fillet, from Sydney Meers of the Dumbwaiter Restaurant in Norfolk.
``Why do Southerners eat grits, while folks from other parts of the country don't?'' ask Neal and Perry in their book.
``The easy answer and perhaps the best answer, is that Southerners eat grits because they always have.'' ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff color photos
LEFT: Grits and Collards With Sauteed Red Snapper Fillet is served
at the Dumbwaiter Restaurant in Norfolk.
Grits are made by soaking corn to remove the outer hulls; the hominy
is then ground to make grits. Shown at upper right: a grits
souffle.
by CNB