Understanding the variations between polenta, grits, and cornmeal—and the way finest to make use of them—is advanced and fascinating, and we’ll get to that! However there’s additionally a brief reply, so let’s begin there and work backward.

Cornmeal, grits, and polenta are all phrases that describe floor, dried subject corn (which is totally different from candy summer time corn that we eat on the cob). Relying on the kind of subject corn (normally dent or flint), how finely or coarsely it’s floor, and the way it’s cooked and served, it will probably turn out to be various things: Advantageous and medium cornmeal are sometimes used for cornbread, muffins, and hush puppies; extra coarsely floor cornmeal can be utilized to make dishes like grits and polenta. On a primary degree, that is it.

Italian
Clean and Creamy Polenta
A definitive information—and a few delusion debunking—to creating the very best polenta at residence.

prepare dinner time:


6 hrs 10 minutes

serves:


4
to six

However past these bodily variations, a lot of what separates cornmeal, grits, and polenta comes right down to how and the place they’re used. In lots of instances, the merchandise themselves are practically similar—what differs most is the cultural custom they belong to and the best way they’re ready and served.

Let’s dig slightly deeper. There are small, artisanal producers that grind corn with nuanced flavors from regional and heirloom corn varieties. And there are large-scale and industrial producers whose cornmeal, polenta, and grits are acquainted grocery retailer staples. Right here’s the catch: There are not any labeling requirements requiring packages to checklist the corn’s origin or processing methodology.

Smaller producers may proudly checklist these particulars in addition to the coarseness of the grind, and whether or not it’s stoneground; whereas grocery retailer choices is likely to be generically labeled ‘polenta’ or ‘grits’ with no additional element. If there’s a silver lining to those labeling vagueries, it could be to underscore the interchangeability of those three merchandise within the kitchen.

In our quest to study all about cornmeal, grits, and polenta, we spoke with Virginia Willis, chef, cookbook creator, and Southern foodways skilled. She recalled an outdated joke that goes again to when Italian polenta first made an enormous splash on the American specialty meals and restaurant scene. The opening goes, “What’s the distinction between a bag of grits and a bag of polenta?” The punchline: “About $15.”

In all seriousness although, Willis, together with different specialists we reached out to—together with grain authorities Glenn Roberts and Claire Reynolds from Anson Mills, an artisan mill in Columbia, South Carolina specializing in heirloom corn and different grains, in addition to Bob’s Crimson Mill’s Culinary Content material Specialist, Sarena Shasteen—all inspired cooks to hunt out and use the precise product known as for in a recipe to realize optimum outcomes.

Grits

The way to Make Grits

A really nice bowl of grits would not want something greater than slightly butter and salt.

prepare dinner time:


35 minutes

serves:


2

Nonetheless, they acknowledged the must be resourceful within the kitchen and on the grocery retailer. As Shasteen talked about in an e mail, “You may usually substitute polenta, grits, and cornmeal, retaining in thoughts the variations in texture.” You might also want to regulate cooking time and liquid quantities, per Shasteen, as totally different grinds prepare dinner at totally different charges and take in liquid in another way.

Additional underscoring this level, Severe Eats’s editorial director Daniel writes about polenta, “Polenta would not should be made with a product that claims ‘polenta’ on the package deal. There’s nothing improper with utilizing a product designed solely for polenta, however you possibly can simply as simply use any medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal.” Backside line: There’s loads of room for interchangeability.

As a lot as these merchandise overlap, there are some particulars value discussing that may assist us differentiate them.

What Form of Corn Is Used to Make Cornmeal, Polenta, and Grits? 

The kind of subject corn used for cornmeal and grits is dent corn, which is comparatively comfortable and starchy, and will get its identify from the little dent on the prime of the kernel. True Italian polenta, then again, comes from flint corn, so known as for being as exhausting as flint. A specific number of flint corn, known as “otto file” (which describes the “eight rows” of kernels on every cob), is usually the corn of alternative for Italian polenta. That mentioned, some American firms promote polenta constituted of corn grown within the US that will or could not have Italian lineage—contemplating the aforementioned package deal label vagueries, there’s usually no straightforward strategy to know.

You will discover numerous sorts of each dent and flint corn grown and milled by small farms that concentrate on cultivating and preserving regional and heirloom varieties, prized for his or her depth of taste and terroir (a time period that refers to an agricultural product’s distinct native traits).

Some producers, like Anson Mills within the US, specialise in freshly milled grains and have gained a following amongst residence cooks and cooks for his or her consideration to historic varieties and taste. Extra broadly obtainable choices embrace manufacturers like Bob’s Crimson Mill, which sources US-grown corn cultivated with out artificial pesticides or fertilizers, in line with Shasteen. On the different finish of the spectrum are large-scale industrial producers whose sourcing practices are much less clear.

The Significance of the Grind

Other than the kind of corn used, one of many major elements that may distinguish cornmeal, polenta, and grits from one another is the grind itself.

Industrial vs. Stoneground: Massive industrial manufacturers sometimes use steel rollers or grinders to mill corn. A lot of the hull and the germ are faraway from the kernels on this course of, which provides them a protracted shelf life, and a texture that’s pretty uniform. When corn is stoneground, it’s actually floor between stones. Some/a lot of the hull and germ stay intact, that means extra textural variation and deeper taste. It additionally produces a wider vary of particles, some bigger, some finer, leading to a extra diversified ultimate texture. 

Grind measurement: Whether or not it’s floor industrially or stoneground, corn could be floor to totally different sizes. Finer cornmeal is usually used to make extra delicate baked items, whereas extra coarsely floor cornmeal is properly fitted to hearty bowls of grits or polenta. Remember that the dimensions of the grind additionally signifies how briskly it’s going to take in liquid and prepare dinner, with finer grinds absorbing water extra shortly.

A Word on Immediate Polenta and Grits 

A lot of the polenta and grits on the cabinets in grocery shops at present are on the spot or quick-cooking. Immediate merchandise are sometimes finely floor corn that’s been cooked, dried, after which floor once more. Add these grains to scorching liquid, stir very briefly, and so they’re achieved. However that point financial savings comes on the expense of taste and texture. Willis likens on the spot grits to a “pot of starch with no taste.” As she places it, “Immediate grits are zombie grits. They don’t have any soul.” The identical is true of polenta.

Willis recommends selecting the longest cooking product obtainable—on the planet of grocery retailer grits, quick-cook is healthier than on the spot, and old school is healthier than quick-cook. Which means that when you’re confronted with solely on the spot or quick-cook polenta or grits alongside medium or coarse cornmeal and need to make polenta or grits, you are usually higher off getting the coarse cornmeal and skipping the others, even when they’ve the extra acceptable identify on the bag.

Cornmeal, Polenta, and Grits: A Nearer Look

Cornmeal 

That is the broadest and hardest to outline of all of the phrases, as a result of “cornmeal” merely describes a dried meal constituted of corn. Cornmeal could be floor to any measurement, could be constituted of many several types of corn, and can be utilized for any conceivable goal. In actual fact, one can accurately think about polenta and grits to be kinds of cornmeal (in that they’re meals constituted of corn). As a result of it is such an all-encompassing time period, it is essential to know that not all kinds of cornmeal are acceptable for all makes use of.

Most merchandise bought as “cornmeal” are a fine- to medium-grind, and can be utilized to make cornbread, corn muffins, and hush puppies, to “bread” fish and seafood for frying, and to mud a pizza pan so the crust would not stick. Some producers, together with Bob’s Crimson Mill, additionally make coarse-ground cornmeal, which might work properly as a stand-in for polenta and grits. Relying on the way it’s cooked and served, that very same coarse cornmeal is likely to be known as polenta in a single kitchen and grits in one other.

Polenta 

Most strongly related to the cooking of northern Italy, polenta is form of an Italian cousin to grits. Polenta dates again to historic Roman occasions and was initially a time period for mush or porridge constituted of numerous grains cooked with water. Earlier than corn made its strategy to Italy from the New World within the 1500s, grains starting from buckwheat to fava beans had been the norm. Ultimately, corn grew to become the popular grain for polenta, and now the dish is almost synonymous with corn.

Whereas a lot much less frequent, you possibly can nonetheless typically discover “taragna” or “nera” polenta, which is a mixture of corn polenta and buckwheat flour that hails from the Italian Alpine valleys north of Brescia and Bergamo. Whether or not it has genuine Italian lineage or not, polenta at present is often medium- or coarsely-ground corn with a texture just like grits that will or might not be stoneground. Stoneground polenta cooks up right into a porridge with a extra diversified texture in comparison with polenta floor to a extra constant measurement; many prize the feel of stoneground, but it surely’s finally a query of private choice.

Polenta is finest when slowly cooked in liquid (normally water or broth) over low warmth. Because it cooks, the grains swell and launch their starches, turning into thick and creamy. Polenta could be a principal course, usually topped with braised meats or melted cheese, or a aspect dish, enriched with butter and/or cheese stirred in on the finish of cooking. Polenta will also be cooled and set, then later sliced, crisped (normally grilled or fried), and topped with cheeses, olives, recent herbs—virtually like toast. Or attempt Virginia Willis’s favourite manner: Lower agency polenta into cubes, then fry them and use them as croutons, a go-to methodology Willis realized in Tuscany from cookbook creator and meals skilled Paula Lambert.

Pre-cooked polenta can also be bought in tubes on the grocery retailer, typically refrigerated, typically shelf-stable. Not all cooks like its taste or texture, however in a pinch it may be minimize up and fried, and even made comfortable and creamy once more by simmering in liquid, after which mashing it totally to take away lumps. 

Grits 

Grits refers to corn that is been coarsely floor for the precise goal of constructing the Southern dish of the identical identify. On the retailer, search for the longest-cooking grits obtainable, and simmer them with water, or probably inventory (shrimp inventory is a pleasant addition when you’re making shrimp and grits).

Cooking over low warmth will assist develop one of the best texture, giving the grits loads of time to completely take in water, hydrate, and slowly launch their starches for a creamy, corn-forward consequence. Grits could be a easy breakfast aspect dish topped with simply salt, pepper, and a pat of butter (Sarena Shasteen’s favourite), as the bottom for Lowcountry seafood stews like shrimp and grits, or reimagined in new methods (Virginia Willis makes use of it because the topping on her Southern-style shepherd’s pie).

Generally grits are bought as “hominy” grits, one other time period that may add appreciable confusion. Historically, hominy grits differ from different grits in that the dried corn they’re constituted of has been soaked and simmered in an alkaline resolution to take away their hulls. The method is named nixtamalization, and it makes a few of the vitamins within the corn simpler for our our bodies to soak up. This ensuing corn is named hominy, and it’s dried and floor to make hominy grits.

Be careful, although, as a result of some merchandise which might be bought as “hominy” grits are made with common dried corn and never nixtamalized corn (as soon as once more, we are able to thank an absence of labeling laws for this confusion). You may determine whether or not the corn in “hominy” grits has really been nixtamalized or not from the ingredient checklist—it ought to embrace some kind of alkaline agent like calcium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide (you may additionally see frequent names for these alkalis like “lime” or “cal”).

Masa Harina

So long as we’re discussing hominy and nixtamalization, it is value briefly acknowledging one other nixtamalized corn flour on market cabinets: masa harina. Much like the hominy talked about above, the corn for masa harina is soaked and simmered in alkalized water earlier than being floor right into a dough known as masa after which dried to make masa harina. It is shelf-stable and may simply be reconstituted and used identical to recent masa to make Mesoamerican meals like tortillas, tamales, and a lot extra.