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rachaelgillis
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| Joined: | Mon Feb 2nd, 2009 |
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| Posts: | 11 |
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Posted: Wed Apr 29th, 2009 05:02 pm |
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| SO...after the getting started class a couple weeks ago at BB, I bought some corn so I could make grits. I put my wonder mill on the coarse setting. It came out like flour. However, I tried it anyway. Yuck. They weren't good. They were like ooey cream of wheat but not as good. So now I have a bucket o corn that I wanted to use for grits that I can't (apparently) make. I know I can make cornbread, but we don't do that much around here. I'm not really in the market, or $$ position to buy another aparatus simply for grits, so what do I do? I was all ready this am to have delicious grits like what we sampled at BB, but I was GREATLY disappointed! Help!!!
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KSherrill
Moderator
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Posted: Wed Apr 29th, 2009 08:50 pm |
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Funny description of the grits from corn flour! They really might make a better spackle.
The corn has to be ground coarse in order to make grits. There are a few options. You can get a Tribest blender, which is the small blender used for smoothies. It makes great smoothies, but can also be used to whip cream, grind flaxseed, and grind corn for grits. Mine always leaves a few big chunks, which I find annoying. But the grits turn out yummy. You will have to play with the amount of water, and the cooking time tends to be much longer than what is listed in the book. It's not a speedy 5 minutes like Quaker grits, that's for sure. It's more like 20-30 minutes on low, stirring and adding water here and there.
Another option is the new blender called the Mega Blend (I love mine!). Aside from being a fantastic blender, it will grind corn for grits, and also grind other grains for cereals. It was designed to do that sort of thing. You can get the corn very coarse or pretty fine, depending on how long you grind it. If you like it very coarse, you may find some larger pieces of the kernel in the mix. If you do, you can just sift those out. Or you can grind a little longer and they will get milled eventually. Just know that the longer you grind the corn, the finer it will become. But it will never reach an overall powdery consistency like it will in a regular grain mill like a WonderMill or NutriMill.
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Gigmaster
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Posted: Fri May 1st, 2009 05:45 pm |
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The first thing you did wrong was use corn. What you made was cornmeal mush, which isn't bad, but it is not grits. You can use the corn in pancake recipes, and as a thickener for soups, etc....or feed it to the birds and squirrels.
Grits are made from dried hominey (pozole). You can find it in most Mexican grocery stores. To get it the right consistency, you need to use a hand-crank grinder. They are cheap (again, at most Mexican grocery stores), usually under $30.00.
This is the same mistake that people make when they try to make whole grain tortillas. Masa Harina is made from dried hominey, not corn.
Try it with the hominey, and you will be more than happy with the results.
Bon apetit!
Last edited on Fri May 1st, 2009 05:46 pm by Gigmaster
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KSherrill
Moderator
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Posted: Sun May 3rd, 2009 12:31 pm |
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| You can make delicious grits using freshly-ground corn, as long as it is ground to the right consistency.
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Gigmaster
Member
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Posted: Mon May 4th, 2009 08:36 pm |
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KSherrill wrote: You can make delicious grits using freshly-ground corn, as long as it is ground to the right consistency.
While technically correct (any ground corn hot ceral can be called 'grits'), what is sold in stores, and revered by many of us in the South is Hominey Grits. When people speak of grits, they are reffering to Hominey Grits, 98% of the time. If you order grits in a restaurant, you are going to get Hominey Grits (if you are lucky, maybe they won't be Instant Grits...yeeeaaacchhh!).
Hot cereal made from ground corn is usually reffered to as 'mush', and was a staple during the Great Depression. Molded and fried, it is called 'Corn-Pone', and 'Corn-Dodgers'. Add an egg, baking powder, baking soda, a little flour, and oil, then fry it on a flat grill and you have 'Hoe-Cakes', or Tennessee Cornbread.
That's the cool thing with whole grains....even if you use the wrong one, it is still great to eat! You can't lose.
Whatever grain you use for cereal, either course-grind them with a hand-crank mill, or cook them whole.
Bon apetit.
Last edited on Mon May 4th, 2009 08:38 pm by Gigmaster
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Alison in KY
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 24th, 2008 |
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Posted: Mon May 18th, 2009 02:03 am |
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KSherrill wrote: Funny description of the grits from corn flour! They really might make a better spackle.
The corn has to be ground coarse in order to make grits. There are a few options. You can get a Tribest blender, which is the small blender used for smoothies. It makes great smoothies, but can also be used to whip cream, grind flaxseed, and grind corn for grits. Mine always leaves a few big chunks, which I find annoying. But the grits turn out yummy. You will have to play with the amount of water, and the cooking time tends to be much longer than what is listed in the book. It's not a speedy 5 minutes like Quaker grits, that's for sure. It's more like 20-30 minutes on low, stirring and adding water here and there.
Another option is the new blender called the Mega Blend (I love mine!). Aside from being a fantastic blender, it will grind corn for grits, and also grind other grains for cereals. It was designed to do that sort of thing. You can get the corn very coarse or pretty fine, depending on how long you grind it. If you like it very coarse, you may find some larger pieces of the kernel in the mix. If you do, you can just sift those out. Or you can grind a little longer and they will get milled eventually. Just know that the longer you grind the corn, the finer it will become. But it will never reach an overall powdery consistency like it will in a regular grain mill like a WonderMill or NutriMill. How can I view more info/read more about the Mega Blend? I like that it can course grind the corn, does it also do the flax, or is it better off being done in a coffee mill? I am interested in finding a really good blender that I can do some whole food smoothies in. My old Kitchen Aid just isn't tough enough for what I want to do. Would the Mega Blend do this? Can I see pictures of it anywhere? Last edited on Mon May 18th, 2009 02:04 am by Alison in KY
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KSherrill
Moderator
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Posted: Mon May 18th, 2009 05:04 pm |
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The Mega Blend is new, so there is not a lot of info about it on theBread Becker website.
It would do a great job grinding flaxseed, especially if you wanted to grind a cup or more. But I usually grind small amounts of flax at a time. The Mega Blend (a full-size blender) might be a bit large for grinding a tablespoon or two. I normally use the smaller Tribest. A coffee grinder would also do the trick.
The Mega Blend makes wonderful smoothies, and grinds ice and frozen fruit into tiny bits. I LOVE mine! It is by far the best blender I've ever had. Here is a photo:
Attachment: MegaBlend-sml.jpg (Downloaded 2 times)
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