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

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 area corn (which is completely different from candy summer time corn that we eat on the cob). Relying on the kind of area corn (normally dent or flint), how finely or coarsely it’s floor, and the way it’s cooked and served, it will possibly turn out to be 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 stage, that is it.

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 circumstances, 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 a bit 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 listing the corn’s origin or processing methodology.

Smaller producers may proudly listing 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 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 writer, 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 particular product known as for in a recipe to attain optimum outcomes.

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 usually substitute polenta, grits, and cornmeal, conserving in thoughts the variations in texture.” You may additionally want to regulate cooking time and liquid quantities, per Shasteen, as completely different grinds cook dinner at completely different charges and take up liquid in another way.

Additional underscoring this level, Critical Eats’s editorial director Daniel writes about polenta, “Polenta would not should be made with a product that claims ‘polenta’ on the bundle. There’s nothing mistaken 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 price discussing that may assist us differentiate them.

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

The kind of area 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, however, 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 selection for Italian polenta. That mentioned, some American firms promote polenta produced from corn grown within the US that will or could not have Italian lineage—contemplating the aforementioned bundle label vagueries, there’s usually no straightforward approach to know.

You could find varied sorts of each dent and flint corn grown and milled by small farms that target 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, focus on freshly milled grains and have gained a following amongst residence cooks and cooks for his or her consideration to historic varieties and taste. Extra extensively out there choices embrace manufacturers like Bob’s Pink Mill, which sources US-grown corn cultivated with out artificial pesticides or fertilizers, based on 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

Except for the kind of corn used, one of many main components that may distinguish cornmeal, polenta, and grits from one another is the grind itself.

Industrial vs. Stoneground: Giant industrial manufacturers usually use metallic 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, which means extra textural variation and deeper taste. It additionally produces a wider vary of particles, some bigger, some finer, leading to a extra diverse 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 effectively suited to hearty bowls of grits or polenta. Understand that the scale of the grind additionally signifies how briskly it’ll take up liquid and cook dinner, with finer grinds absorbing water extra rapidly.

A Observe on On the spot Polenta and Grits 

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

Willis recommends selecting the longest cooking product out there—on this planet of grocery retailer grits, quick-cook is best than prompt, and old school is best than quick-cook. Because of this should you’re confronted with solely prompt 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 applicable 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 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. The truth is, one can accurately think about polenta and grits to be sorts of cornmeal (in that they’re meals produced from corn). As a result of it is such an all-encompassing time period, it is essential to grasp that not all sorts of cornmeal are applicable 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 Pink Mill, additionally make coarse-ground cornmeal, which may work effectively 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 kind of an Italian cousin to grits. Polenta dates again to historical Roman instances and was initially a time period for mush or porridge produced from varied grains cooked with water. Earlier than corn made its approach to Italy from the New World within the 1500s, grains starting from buckwheat to fava beans have been the norm. Ultimately, corn turned the popular grain for polenta, and now the dish is sort of 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 the moment is usually medium- or coarsely-ground corn with a texture just like grits that will or will not be stoneground. Stoneground polenta cooks up right into a porridge with a extra diverse texture in comparison with polenta floor to a extra constant measurement; many prize the feel of stoneground, nevertheless it’s in the end 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 major course, usually topped with braised meats or melted cheese, or a facet 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, contemporary herbs—nearly 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 methodology Willis realized in Tuscany from cookbook writer 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 lower 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 particular goal of creating the Southern dish of the identical identify. On the retailer, search for the longest-cooking grits out there, and simmer them with water, or probably inventory (shrimp inventory is a pleasant addition should you’re making shrimp and grits).

Cooking over low warmth will assist develop the very best texture, giving the grits loads of time to totally take up water, hydrate, and slowly launch their starches for a creamy, corn-forward consequence. Grits could be a easy breakfast facet 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 answer to take away their hulls. The method is known as nixtamalization, and it makes a number of the vitamins within the corn simpler for our our bodies to soak up. This ensuing corn is known as 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 an absence of labeling rules for this confusion). You possibly can establish whether or not the corn in “hominy” grits has really been nixtamalized or not from the ingredient listing—it ought to embrace some sort 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 price 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 might simply be reconstituted and used identical to contemporary masa to make Mesoamerican meals like tortillas, tamales, and a lot extra.