The Actual Distinction Between Polenta, Grits, and Cornmeal, In line with Specialists

Understanding the variations between polenta, grits, and cornmeal—and the way finest to make use of them—is complicated 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 discipline corn (which is completely different from candy summer season corn that we eat on the cob). Relying on the kind of discipline corn (normally dent or flint), how finely or coarsely it’s floor, and the way it’s cooked and served, it may well turn into various things: High-quality 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 fundamental degree, that is it.

Italian
Easy and Creamy Polenta
A definitive information—and a few delusion debunking—to creating the absolute best polenta at dwelling.

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 all the way down to how and the place they’re used. In lots of instances, the merchandise themselves are almost equivalent—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 aren’t any labeling requirements requiring packages to checklist the corn’s origin or processing technique.

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

In our quest to be taught all about cornmeal, grits, and polenta, we spoke with Virginia Willis, chef, cookbook creator, and Southern foodways knowledgeable. She recalled an previous 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 Pink 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 attain optimum outcomes.

Grits

How you can Make Grits

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

prepare dinner time:


35 minutes

serves:


2

Nonetheless, they acknowledged the have to be resourceful within the kitchen and on the grocery retailer. As Shasteen talked about in an e mail, “You possibly can typically substitute polenta, grits, and cornmeal, holding in thoughts the variations in texture.” You may additionally want to regulate cooking time and liquid quantities, per Shasteen, as completely different grinds prepare dinner at completely different charges and take up liquid otherwise.

Additional underscoring this level, Severe Eats’s editorial director Daniel writes about polenta, “Polenta does not need to be made with a product that claims ‘polenta’ on the bundle. 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 Type of Corn Is Used to Make Cornmeal, Polenta, and Grits? 

The kind of discipline corn used for cornmeal and grits is dent corn, which is comparatively delicate and starchy, and will get its title from the little dent on the high of the kernel. True Italian polenta, alternatively, 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 stated, some American corporations promote polenta produced from corn grown within the US that will or might not have Italian lineage—contemplating the aforementioned bundle label vagueries, there’s usually no straightforward solution to know.

You could find 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, concentrate on freshly milled grains and have gained a following amongst dwelling cooks and cooks for his or her consideration to historic varieties and taste. Extra broadly accessible choices embody manufacturers like Bob’s Pink Mill, which sources US-grown corn cultivated with out artificial pesticides or fertilizers, in keeping with Shasteen. On the different finish of the spectrum are large-scale business producers whose sourcing practices are much less clear.

The Significance of the Grind

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

Industrial vs. Stoneground: Giant business 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 supplies them an extended 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 various last texture. 

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

A Observe on On the spot Polenta and Grits 

A lot of the polenta and grits on the cabinets in grocery shops immediately are immediate or quick-cooking. On the spot 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 executed. However that point financial savings comes on the expense of taste and texture. Willis likens immediate grits to a “pot of starch with no taste.” As she places it, “On the spot grits are zombie grits. They haven’t any soul.” The identical is true of polenta.

Willis recommends selecting the longest cooking product accessible—on the planet of grocery retailer grits, quick-cook is healthier than immediate, and old style is healthier than quick-cook. Which means that if you happen to’re confronted with solely immediate or quick-cook polenta or grits alongside medium or coarse cornmeal and wish 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 title 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 produced from corn. Cornmeal could be floor to any measurement, could be produced from many several types of corn, and can be utilized for any conceivable goal. In truth, one can appropriately think about polenta and grits to be forms of cornmeal (in that they’re meals produced from corn). As a result of it is such an all-encompassing time period, it is vital to know that not all forms 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 does not stick. Some producers, together with Bob’s Pink Mill, additionally make coarse-ground cornmeal, which might work nicely as a stand-in for polenta and grits. Relying on the way it’s cooked and served, that very same coarse cornmeal could 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 type of an Italian cousin to grits. Polenta dates again to historic Roman instances and was initially a time period for mush or porridge produced from numerous grains cooked with water. Earlier than corn made its solution 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 immediately is usually medium- or coarsely-ground corn with a texture just like grits that will or is probably not stoneground. Stoneground polenta cooks up right into a porridge with a extra various 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 non-public desire.

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, changing into thick and creamy. Polenta generally is a important 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 may also be cooled and set, then later sliced, crisped (normally grilled or fried), and topped with cheeses, olives, recent herbs—virtually like toast. Or strive Virginia Willis’s favourite approach: Reduce agency polenta into cubes, then fry them and use them as croutons, a go-to technique Willis discovered in Tuscany from cookbook creator and meals knowledgeable 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 delicate 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 creating the Southern dish of the identical title. On the retailer, search for the longest-cooking grits accessible, and simmer them with water, or presumably inventory (shrimp inventory is a pleasant addition if you happen to’re making shrimp and grits).

Cooking over low warmth will assist develop the most effective texture, giving the grits loads of time to totally take up water, hydrate, and slowly launch their starches for a creamy, corn-forward end result. Grits generally is 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).

Typically 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 produced from has been soaked and simmered in an alkaline resolution to take away their hulls. The method is named nixtamalization, and it makes a number 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 are bought as “hominy” grits are made with common dried corn and never nixtamalized corn (as soon as once more, we are able to thank a scarcity of labeling laws for this confusion). You possibly can establish whether or not the corn in “hominy” grits has truly been nixtamalized or not from the ingredient checklist—it ought to embody 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. Just 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 might simply be reconstituted and used similar to recent masa to make Mesoamerican meals like tortillas, tamales, and a lot extra.