Grits v. polenta

Is polenta roughly the same as grits?

Not exactly. Polenta is made of corn, grits of hominy or corn. I believe it is a coarser ground than polenta.

Grits are white. Polenta's yellow. I think they taste very different, too. Yummy, though!

Ocado has ridiculously expensive insto-grits if you really fancy them!

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Instant-Grits/52892011?parentContainer=SEARCHgrits

sorry for the late thanks.

Polenta is the same as cornmeal in the States, although you can get it in varying thickness of grains here.  They are quite different really.  There's a shop here where I can get the packets of intant grits, but I don't like that as much and they are overpriced, so I have friends and family bring out a big container from home now and again.

This was a surprise to me...

The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002. Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina, with one declaring,

    "Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humour, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of South Carolina used to be the site of a grits mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world", if as Charleston's The Post and Courier proclaimed in 1952, "An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, grits should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of grits is a man of peace."[

just realized my post sounded a little confusing.  After the polenta comment, I was referring to grits.  I don't have people bring cornmeal from home.

"A man full of grits is a man of peace." Hehe... I love that! I smell a new signature coming on...

I smell a new signature coming on...

Because of eating grits?

Because of eating grits?

Maybe. What can I say? I'm a smelly woman. 

I find it interesting that in 1951 a Charleston newspaper editorial (albeit humorously intended) could say that people full of grits would have nothing to fight about, given the civil rights situation of the time, and the pellagra outbreaks across the South caused by over reliance by poorer people on corn-rich diets.

In my experience, even though both polenta and grits are both made from corn grits are ground more finely and polenta is ground more coarsely (largely).  So they are the "same" food but different preparations that taste differently. 

I think grits are made from hominy, which is corn that has been soaked in lime or another alkali solution, in the same way as the corn you use for making tortillas.  Polenta is corn that hasn't been treated in this way.

I've got some grits in the cupboard that a friend brought me last summer (I'm guessing its still good) and was thinking of putting some in the slow cooker tonight for breakfast tomorrow. Only problem is, I will need to cook much more than I can eat and I doubt DH would touch it. How long do you think it would keep in the fridge once cooked? What would be the best way to reheat it if you don't have a microwave? And can you freeze cooked grits? I've never done this before, clearly, even though I'm a Texan.. which I guess it kind of shameful, really.