Two and a Half Day Grits

Do you like grits? I don't, at least not the pre-packaged instant variety that we found and bought once from the Bent-N-Dent. I decided to experiment with real grits made the old fashioned way and this is how it's done. On day 1 you place 1 inch of pickling lime in the bottom of a 2 quart jar and fill with water. Allow to set for at least 12 hours and then pour off the water into a clean container leaving the lime in the bottom. You can find pickling lime in the canning section of your grocery store.


On Day 2 after you have poured off the lime water into a separate canning jar you can prepare your corn by shelling 3 cups of kernels. This is Micah and I shelling our dried open pollinated corn from last year.

Grind the corn coarsely, this is important because it needs to be ground much more coarsely than you want wheat flour to be. Measure out 3 cups corn meal into a bowl.

Pour 3 cups of lime water into your 3 cups corn meal. Mix it up well, it might look a little greenish and that's fine. Let set overnight.

Why do I need to soak my corn? Our ancestors knew that corn needed to be soaked in lime water to release the Vitamin B3 which otherwise remains bound in the grain and unavailable to you. Soaking also improves the amino acid quality of proteins in the germ. Pellagra was a once common disease in the rural South when farmers were encouraged to leave off the old ways for the "Modern Age", it is due to vitamin b3 deficiency. Sometimes the old fashioned way really does work and has logic behind it; that's certainly the case here.

The next morning bring 3 cups of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon real salt. When water boils add your soaked corn, liquid and all. Reduce flame and stir constantly to avoid sticking. Cook until thickened and serve with butter, maple syrup, sorghum etc. For leftover grits mix 1.5 cups grits with 1 egg and form into patties, fry in butter and serve with a pork product. Mmm!

These grits were light years different than the instant stuff. They tasted like real food.

In other news, we're still in the throes of syrup making. I should actually be in the kitchen finishing some off instead of blogging. :-) It has been a good season so far. I'm always glad to see it start and I'm always glad to see it end!