Grits

 

A.      PRODUCT: Grits are mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn. They may be served with grated cheese, butter, sausage or country ham red-eye gravy. Grits are usually prepared by adding one part grits to two-to-three parts boiling water, sometimes seasoned with salt. They are usually cooked for 15 – 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the grits become a porridge-like consistency.

B.      PERSPECTIVES: Throughout time, the south states used to be dependent on this product. The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002.

C.      COMMUNITIES: The general thought for grits can be related to what The Post and Courier proclaimed in 1952, "An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace.”

D.      PEOPLE: Grits are a symbol of diet and customs for every community in the Carolina States. Grits have their origins in Native American corn preparation. Three-quarters of grits sold in the United States are sold in the South stretching from Texas to Virginia, also known as the "grits belt".