Corn is the primary ingredient in traditional Southern grits.
Grits are a porridge made from coarsely ground dried corn, also called maize. The kernels may be ground directly, or treated with an alkali first to make hominy; hominy grits have had the hull and germ-related outer material removed through nixtamalization. The ground corn is then cooked with water or milk until tender and creamy.
The dish has deep Native American roots. The Muscogee people prepared maize-based dishes that influenced Southern grits, and colonists adopted the technique. Early cooks ground corn with stone mills and sifted it: finer material became grit meal, while the coarser particles became grits.
Grits may be white or yellow depending on the corn variety, and they can be savory or sweet, although savory versions are especially common in the South. They are often served with eggs, bacon, cheese, country ham, or fried fish. Shrimp and grits is a celebrated Lowcountry dish associated with coastal South Carolina and Georgia.
Grits are related to polenta, but they are not identical: polenta traditionally uses Italian-grown or Italian-style ground corn, while grits are rooted in the American South.