USA 18 - Grits

I can't leave Savannah without talking about Grits.

All you yanks who are reading, can leave now, cause y'all know this stuff - this is really for us grits-challenged aussies.

In Oz, we keep hearing about grits - it's in the movies, on tv, in books...but what is grits???

Bloody good question.

Grits, for me is sort of a cross between porridge and polenta, but is only eaten savoury, from what I can see, never sweet (although I think it would work well with some cinnamon, vanilla and star anise..mmmm). I hope to be proven wrong by finding some sweet grits on my travels.

Fortunately, my Foodie Tour guys were able to fill me in a bit on this most beloved food of the South.

Grits has its history in native American cooking - corn is native to this country, hence its popularity.

Grits is made from hominy, which is ground matured corn. Apparently when corn matures it swells, goes white and gets very hard. They grind this into a meal, and this is what makes grits. After a bit of research I discovered that there is yellow grits made from the kernel, and the white one (the ones I ate were all white) made from the husk.

Three quarters of the USA grits is eaten in the South, and in 2002 the state of Georgia (where Savannah is) declared grits its official food!

I've eaten grits three times so far. Once in a diner in Atlanta with HOS - it came with breaky and was really gross and totally inedible. The second and third time were in my beloved Savannah, and they were good.

I had Shrimp & Grits at both Lady & Sons - pic 2 - (a very famous, but really a tourist trap, restaurant owned by the famous Savannah celebrity chef, Paula Deen), and again at the Cafe at City Market - pic 3. If you were going to choose one to taste, I'd definitely go with the Cafe at City Market - the shrimp were beautifully cooked and so so so tasty, I'd go again for a great big bowl.

As for the grits - well, I was pleasantly surprised after my awful watery and "gritty" Atlanta experience. In both cases, the grits were buttery and smooth, and quite thick, just like polenta thickens up, both of these grits got to a wonderful stodgy stage that I really like. They don't have any flavour, that's added during the cooking process - I believe these grits were both cooked in a similar way to polenta - with lots of butter and some salt, and lots of stirring. They are a bit bland, but with the good flavoursome shrimp I had at the Cafe at City Market, it really worked - sort of like how mashed potato works with a good gravy.

I can see that grits is something that you develop a taste for - or more accurately, you develop a yearning for that texture in your mouth.

So, when you come to the South, jump into your grits with gusto - start with low expectations and try it more than once. Go the grits!!

Oh, and you may be wondering about pic 1 - it's the famous spot where Forrest Gump sat on a bench with his box of chocolates and told his story, it's in Chippawa Square...you gotta love Savannah!