Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Do you eat grits?

Okay, this poll is all Sarah and Tracey's fault.

Last week Kae and I had the huge pleasure of getting together with some terrific FoLCs: LauraU the YellowDart and BethyEm in Ohio, and Annette, Traceylynn and Sarah Luddy/Maksim in Pennsylvania. Now, since Sarah and Tracey are Southerners (just about), we asked them about that really weird Southern speciality which, from what I can tell, no-one likes yet it turns up with every single meal, whether you ask for it or not: grits.



Both Sarah and Tracey screwed up their faces when asked if they ate grits. And everyone around the table was wondering the same thing: does anyone actually like this stuff? :rolleyes:

So... here's your poll, Marylanders!


Wendy

This sounds an awful lot like haggis. I hear about it, specifically how gross it is, and can never imagine anyone ever actually choosing to eat the stuff except maybe to taste it. Yet it hasn't just gone the way of the dinosaur.

BTW, I chose the "never tried 'em/not really interested" option. They remind me of Cream of Wheat, which is something I avoid completely.

Lynn

When Elisabeth and I got married, we moved into a little apartment in downtown Hannibal, MO. When my folks(Do you know how hard it is to spell that word anymore!) came to visit, we would take them to a nearby resturant that served a buffet breakfast.

You could find Oatmeal, French Toast, pancakes, and this white stuff that resembled miniture wet tapioca pellets that had refused to congeal. I later found out that it was grits. It's actually not too bad with lots of butter, salt or honey (you pick).

I only ate it a few times. It tended to give me an upset stomach. Later, I found out it was made of corn, which I have a mild intolerance to.


James

Blech. It doesn't even *look* good. I first saw it at Basic Training in South Carolina, and stayed far far away from it.

However, I *do* know people who eat them. The local "southern" fast food chain, Bojangles, sells them. I've seen coworkers sit down with a bowl of grits from Bojangles, smother it with butter, salt, and pepper, and chow down. They actually seem to like it.

I've never tasted haggis. But I'm forever hearing from people who thought the same way, then tasted it, and found it delicious. Stuart was one just last week. Never ate the stuff in his life. Then one of his colleagues made it for them for dinner and he's now a convert. And that's saying something, coming from one of the most picky eaters I've ever known.

I might have to give it a try after all.

So maybe it's the same deal for grits. The thought of eating it is appalling, but once you do and try to forget its origins it actually tastes quite good?

LabRat

I chose other and here's why...I have tried them. I lived (against my will) in the south for a good long portion of my life so the subject of grits came up quite often. It's not the grits themselves you are eating when you eat them. It's the honey/syrup/butter you are actually eating. Grits are just like filler, wet cardboard/sawdust, no real taste and icky texture, but when they're the only thing available you make due....use LOTS OF SYRUP/HONEY!!

TEEEEEEJ

I've tried haggis, and I liked it.

Admittedly, I'm a vegetarian, and I had the vegetarian option, with no sheep entrails, but still it was good, and I'm sure it wasn't that far removed from the real thing

It was sort of like stuffing.

And now I think about it, when stuffing doesn't come in a box labelled Paxo, it is often made from sausagemeat, and that is really pig entrails. It all starts to lead up to haggis not being that bad after all.

Now we've wondered away from grits, so I shall attempt to bring it back on topic. I've always thought they were something like Grape Nuts, which are, well, gritty. My granddad liked them (Grape Nuts, not grits, which never made it to rural Wales) I never understood why, because they seem pretty boring as breakfasts go, even if you dressed them up with rasberrys*

I'll go now.

Helga

*Serving suggestion. Picture may not accurately depict contents

Grits... Yeah. I've heard of them, but in the great tradition of mystery foods, I've never been too sure what they are. Nor have I ever eaten 'em.

I always got the impression that they were like hard, gravelly porridge. I guess, though, that my impression has been partly shaped by the name. I mean, grits. Who in their right mind would call food something so utterly unappealling?

Haggis, now... I have eaten -- and enjoyed -- haggis. The only time I had it, it reminded me very strongly of the peppery-tasting shepherd's pie that Dad used to make with the left-overs of the Sunday joint of roast lamb. I guess the message here is don't knock sheep entrails until you've tried them. (Then again, I always wondered whether the stuff I had was the genuine article or whether it had been 'improved' for the tourist market.)

Chris

I've tried 'em. Can't eat 'em. They're just too... gritty. Not much real flavor to them, either. Plain white gritty mush. Yum.

OTOH, my mom inexplicably likes them. Every once in a while, when we're driving around in the South, she'll make sure to order a side of grits and she'll talk about how she was kind of craving them and aren't they great and isn't it such a shame that they're not available in the Northeast... To each their own, I guess.

Paul

Yes, I love grits and eat them often. But I was born and spent the first twenty-one years of my life in the South. Maybe you have to be born to it. Grits are nothing more than corn meal.

They can be eaten a variety of ways. One favorite is, after boiling,to turn them into a round mold, allow them to get cold and then slice and fry them like sausage patties in butter. Add maple syrup on top, and you're really indulging yourself. A dyed-in-the-wool southerner would use sorghum molasses, but that's definitely a taste you have to acquire.

They can be eaten as cereal with sugar and cream or with a little melted butter, salt and pepper as a side dish. You can add garlicky spices if you like. You can add bits of bacon, ham or sausage for a breakfast delight with poached eggs. Or serve them up with chicken or sausage gravy on top.

If you like Polenta, you probably know that it is just a smoother grind of grits. You can do anything with grits that you can do with Polenta.

Grits must be thick to be enjoyed. Thin, soupy grits are terrible and not worth ladling into the bowl or onto the plate.

For breakfast they are much healthier and less greasy than hash browns or cottage fried potatoes.

Thus endeth my praise for grits!

Jude

I've heard of grits, but have never tried them. I am from the NORTH <g>, so I don't think I will ever try them. Plus, I hate traditional breakfast foods -- waffles, and until recently pancakes. . . and the smell of syrup of any kind makes me a little sick. So I generally avoid restaurants where syrup might be.

ohh! I got it! Never heard about "grits", but Jude says is similar to Polenta, so I have a better idea of what it is. Well I like polenta, I'm not crazy about it, but I eat it, expecially if fried. But for breakfast? I'm very "italian" about breakfast, I think: croissant (called "cornetto") and cappuccino or caffellatte is what I eat!

simona

I've known about it, but I've never had it.

I picked, "Never had them but wouldn't mind trying them to see what all the fuss is about."

Though now after reading everyone's posts I'm not sure I know *what* they are now! My knowlege of them has been altered.

(off to look up Grits)

I've had them. They're so-so. I might eat them to be polite if I had to.

Hmmm... I've never tried them... always been a bit scared of them... But people comparing them to Cream of Wheat and polenta (both things I like)... I might have to reconsider. That said, I'm still a bit wary - maybe it's the name - so I probably won't actively seek out a taste.

Sara

Grits are coarsely ground hominy(corn), and rather like coarse cream of wheat. I've eaten them. There are plenty of things I like better, but I don't go into convulsions over them. Personally, I prefer them with salt and butter rather than with syrup.

Nan

I like them! I'm not from the south, but I've been eating them all my life. They're definitely coarser than oatmeal (which I also love) but they're more (imo) filling too.

I've never tried them with sugar, but raisins and cinnamon/sugar is good. Also, when I have an upset stomach, grits with butter and salt seem to be very soothing and filling without making me sick.

On the other hand, I don't care for cream of wheat; it had a weird sort of aftertaste the couple of times I tried it.

Kaylle
(And by the way, I'm annoyed you guys came to Ohio the week before I came home! )

Yes I like grits. I was born in Richmond, Va and my mother is from Arkansas. I never had them with syrup. My mother always served them with eggs. I like my with lots of butter and melted American Cheese. They are not gritty if cooked properly.

I tried them once and can't remember a thing about them, which probably means I neither disliked or liked them.

Now, haggis...YUM! I'm usually pretty squeamish about food, but only if it looks like the thing it is. For example, with my usual sense of adventure and curiosity about food, I once ordered seafood pasta in Venice and got this scary dish with a great big octopus thingy on the top, complete with tentacles. This was too much of a challenge to my adventurous spirit and I was only able to eat about a quarter of the pasta underneath. But haggis - well, it just looks like minced up meat mixed with barley, so that's fine. Tastes nice, goes great with mashed potatoes and neeps, and if you give me a really good malt whisky to wash it down with, all the better.

Yvonne

Am I right in thinking too that haggis is considered quite a healthy option? Lowfat compared to most red meats? Or am I havering and making this up as I go along?

LabRat (trying to expand her diet which has gotten into a restricted rut again and in something of a quandry since that Dispatches expose last week put her off chicken for life. :rolleyes: )