The very first time I made polenta I was flat broke. Butter and cheese was a luxury according to my record store clerk wages, and I decided I could do without. I cooked up a huge pot while it splattered, popped and lobbed a few hot liquid burns in my direction. Trust me, this was not the way to initiate someone into the polenta-loving fold. My bowlful was bland and boring and I instantly decided that polenta was for chumps. Cornmeal mush was off my radar. 
 
Fast-forward ten years, when I was out to broaden my culinary knowledge. Polenta seemed like a good place to start. This time I was older and wiser (my minimum wage job was long gone) and I went all out on the butter and cheese. I cooked up a pot, poured it into a baking pan, let it cool in the fridge for a bit, and then topped it with a chorizo sausage ragu. Yum! Things on the polenta front were looking up. 
 
When a friend sent me a bag of Southern grits from her home in North Carolina, I was intrigued. Grits couldn't be the same as polenta, could it? After a bit of internet discovery, I found out that some grits are made from hominey—lye-treated corn that is coarsely ground. Anson Mills, a heritage grain mill located in South Carolina, notes the difference. Grits are made from dent kernals (which is a kernal of corn with a soft, starchy center), while flint corn is used for polenta. Anson Mills notes on their website that "Flint corn, by contrast, has a hard, starchy endosperm and produces grittier, more granular meal that offers an outstanding mouthfeel when cooked."
 
Visually, grits are more coarse and should be cooked much longer (45 minutes and up) than their polenta bretheren. And while I can't differentiate between endosperm grit and dent softness, I also couldn't find much of a difference taste and texture-wise between grits and polenta. I'm sure there are southern cooks out there who have a different opinion, but for me, load up a bowl with butter and cheese and I'll call it whatever you like. 
 
 
I make grits quite often and will often use it in place of rice or pasta. Technically, what I make is still polenta, but I like the sound of grits better. It seems tastier and a bit more foreign—strange, but when you're from Canada the South seems much further away than Italy. I like my grits creamy rather than the chilled polenta slabs that get reheated and served with tomato sauce. While they taste great on their own, I often serve a bowlful topped with sauteed greens (spinach, chard or kale), onions and chickpeas. It makes a cozy and simple winter meal. 
 
Creamy Grits
1 cup coarse cornmeal
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup aged Cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
 
In the largest pot you have, combine the stock and milk and let it come to a boil. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal and turn down the heat to a simmer. Put the lid back on the pot, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for the next 15-20 minutes or until creamy and tender. Turn off heat and add in the butter and cheese and sprinkle with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper. If it gets too thick, stir in a bit of milk.

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