While Grits Have Their Origins In America, Other Grains Worldwide May Be Affectionately Called The Same

Despite their diverse names and grains, some still consider all these variations' grits'.

This photograph was taken by the author and may not be reused without permission.

Grits aficionados will be shocked when I say there are other “grits” than ground-up white corn variety. I can hear the shouts of “heresy” now, but stay with me for an explanation. But before we get there, some definitions and history are necessary.

Grits is a regional (American South) dish cooked with a particular type of cornmeal. Its regionality was exploited for comedic purposes in the classic 1992 comedy, “My Cousin Vinny.” The plot involves two naive New York boys traveling in rural Alabama. In a case of mistaken identity, they are unfairly accused of robbery and jailed. One of the boys has a cousin, Vinny, played by Joe Pesci, a novice attorney who has recently passed the bar after multiple tries.

Pesci and his fiancee drive to Alabama but don’t understand the restaurant menu at their first breakfast. He reads “Grits” and asks the cook, “What’s a grit?” The joke here is that grit is only singular if referring to the structure of a stone that adapts to grinding or the firmness of mind or spirit.