# How to make Grits from Scratch?



## nj_m715

I've searched for articles and watched a few youtube vid's but I can't find what I'm looking for. I can only find people opening and cooking a box of grits from the store. I want to find something like the blender pancake recipe where you can make pancakes from wheat berries. 
Has anyone made grids from scratch? I know it's made from corn, but I don't know if anything else needs to be done.
Can I just course grind some corn and boil it with some butter, salt etc. to make some plain breakfast style grits? 
Step by step instruction with portions and measurements would be great, but I'll take any advise from someone with first hand experience. There must be an old fashion Belle or good 'ol boy here to help out a yankee.
Thanks Mike


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## BadgeBunny

Before you can make grits you have to make hominy. My grandmother used to do this but I was too young to pay much attention so no real practical experience from me, but I did find this:

Mountain Laurel Recipe for Hominy

Good luck!! I would be interested in knowing how you fare.

Off to search and see if I can find some other sites. Will let you know what I come across.


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## BadgeBunny

Here's another site I found. This one is better, I think.

Lye Hominy: Nutrition, Cooking Tips

You might be able to register here and ask questions:

How to Make Hominy and Grits


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## Frugal_Farmers

Check out this blog:

Making Cornmeal and Grits


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## nj_m715

Thanks guys, I think Farmer found just what I was looking for. I thought it was like creamy wheat, just grind and boil. I'm getting low on flour, so I have to dig out the grinder in the next couple weeks anyway. I'll be able to try making some cornbread too. I have a couple books with simple recipes for it.


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## nj_m715

Well, we finally had a chance to try making some grits. We used farmers link and it was easier than I expected. It was a little bland at first, but an extra pad of butter took care of it. The grinding and sifting took a while, but 1/4 cup of grits made 3 large servings, so our can should last us. 

I'd like to try hominy, but I'm not really into cooking with drain cleaner. I saw a couple recipes that didn't use lye. We'll try one of those when the time comes. Thanks again


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## neilcronk

*Nixtamalization*

Responding to nj_m715 who said:

I'd like to try hominy, but I'm not really into cooking with drain cleaner. I saw a couple recipes that didn't use lye. We'll try one of those when the time comes. Thanks again
nj, I know that cooking with lye sounds horrible, but, as someone alluded to above, I think, the prepared hominy actually has more nutrition than corn by itself...that is, the nutrients in the corn are more

accessible.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization

In Mexico traditionally tortillas and tamales are made using hominy that's smashed (more than ground, since it's still wet) on a "molcajete (molka-het-teh)". Commercially produced powdered nixtamal (notice the word 'tamal' in there?) is available, Maseca brand, for instance. The lye doesn't poison you or the corn, because you're not actually eating the lye...it just loosens the skin on the kernel (ever noticed the after effect of eating corn when you go to the bathroom? That's because that skin in cellulose which we don't digest) and chemically processes the corn grain in a way that makes is easier to use for many things, and more nutritionally accessible. Traditional grits were often made from hominy.


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## kyredneck

A bit of history:

"Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet....."

"The traditional food preparation method of corn (maize), *nixtamalization*,* by native New World cultivators *who had domesticated corn required *treatment of the grain with lime*, an alkali. *The lime treatment now has been shown to make niacin nutritionally available* and reduce the chance of developing pellagra.[4] *When corn cultivation was adopted worldwide, this preparation method was not accepted because the benefit was not understood.* The original cultivators, often heavily dependent on corn, did not suffer from *pellagra*; it *became common only when corn became a staple that was eaten without the traditional treatment*."

"In the *early 1900s, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the American South*. Pellagra deaths in South Carolina numbered 1,306 during the first ten months of 1915; 100,000 Southerners were affected in 1916. At this time, the scientific community held that pellagra was probably caused by a germ or some unknown toxin in corn.[7] *The Spartanburg Pellagra Hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was the nation's first facility dedicated to discovering the cause of pellagra*. It was established in 1914 with a special congressional appropriation to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and set up primarily for research. In 1915, Joseph Goldberger, assigned to study pellagra by the Surgeon General of the United States, showed pellagra was linked to diet by inducing the disease in prisoners, using the Spartanburg Pellagra Hospital as his clinic. By 1926, Goldberger established *a balanced diet or a small amount of brewer's yeast[8] prevented pellagra*."

All because they didn't understand the benefit of the lime treatment that the natives had been doing for centuries.....


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## karlsgunbunker

Hominy whether made with lye or lime should be rinsed and soaked in clean water several time before being cooked, dried, or ground.
Rinsing removes the Caustic Lye/Lime so it's safe to eat.
You use a fairly mild lye solution when making Hominy.

I got my Lye here: http://www.essentialdepot.com/
and picked up Pickling Lime at Wal-Mart on clearance in the fall.


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