[floreset]

Where can I find grits in Paris (I mean to buy and do at home!)???

[cris]

hi
Any super market should carry polente/polenta in various thickness small mediume coarse finne moyenne grosse search on shelf with pasta and couscous .

[floreset]

...bu is it really the same?

[Rainey]

Yes, identical. I was posting to make the same suggestion. Polenta and grits are both simply coarsely ground cornmeal. The rest is how you use them.
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[floreset]

MERCI !!! I'll buy some tomorrow and will let you know! If anyone knows what brand is closest to Quaker Oats instant grits, please post! Thanks to you all already!!!

[villacollinette]

There are quick types of polenta that should work pretty well. They should be pretty similar, but you'll probably want to use more water and cook them a little longer to get them to be closer to grits in consistency. And of course, they'll be yellow, not white. Let us know how close it comes!

[jrobin]

I recently saw a recipe that called for white polenta, which we all know is a 'new/ fancy' name for grits. So maybe there is something sold over there by that name.



Jennifer

[Debbie]

The penny drops.... so that is what grits is!

I had no idea that it was the same thing. I cook up polenta quite often and have it in various textures from really moist to almost set and one that you can cut up and pan fry or grill. I am assuming grits is when it has more moisture in it? Please let me know what texture grits has (ie really runny, thick and able to be dolloped or set).

You learn something new everyday...

I have bought white polenta and normal polenta here in Paris. I shop in either Franprix, G20, Monoprix or Casino - whichever I am going past, and depending on what I need to get.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Donna]

The word GRITS actually has two syllables when spoken by a proper southern girl - gree-uts

The texture should be on the moist side - like cream of wheat or oatmeal. It is served with either sweet or savory toppings. Butter and syrup or brown sugar on the sweet side. Savory toppings are cheese or gravy. Red Eye gravy, made with pan drippings (from ham) and coffee is a common one.

Let us know how it turns out!
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L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[rhaazz]

"I am assuming grits is when it has more moisture in it? Please let me know what texture grits has (ie really runny, thick and able to be dolloped or set)."

Grits can be served so that it is the consistency of oatmeal, but when I was growing up in Texas, my mother used to let iit set overnight in a pyrex dish, then cut it into squares and fry it up, then serve it with syrup and butter. Mmmmm.

Fast forward about twenty years. I'm a snooty graduate student living in hipper than thou Berkeley, California. As part of my vegan practice, I used to make polenta all the time. I followed Marcella Hazan's laborious directions about dripping the grains in a fine stream, stirring constantly, and cooking it very slowly. Then I would serve it with chopped root vegetables that had been roasted with olive oil, sage, thyme, and garlic.

Doing this made me feel very fancy and a little smug. I was a serious foodie and a vegan too! Little did I know I was simply cooking the cheap, low-class grits I grew up with.

[frantom]

there are quaker quick grits in my paris kitchen right now. my girlfriend, a quebecoise, thinks they are disgusting. more for me.

got them when i was home in alabama over christmas, though.

[floreset]

Thank you for all you advice!

I bought TOPIAK Polenta and cooked it longer with more water.It's very close to grits with two exceptions:

- the color (it's yellow!)...but this does not matter
- the consistency (it's too fine)...and this matters!

I've been to Franprix, Inno and Monoprix and TIPIAK is the only brand they carry. Does anyone know where to find larger and coarser polenta in Paris?

[Judy]

gee, I dunno, every time I read the posts on this thread I just can't shake the association with sand.
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[madameshawshank]

ditto
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[Debbie]

Try different monoprix and Franprix etc. I find that some don't have a full range of brands and you need to know which one in your area stocks your favourites. It seems a little strange to me that all the Franprix do not stock the same things, same for Monoprix etc... but that seems to be quite normal from what I can figure. I know that my local Franprix has 3 (or 4 including the leader price brand) brands of polenta and semolina, but others may only have one.

Do you have a Casino store near you? If so they have an aisle which contains english and american brands (unless it is a really tiny store). You might be able to find it there.

I laughed at the story from rhaazz.... What your Mum did with setting the mix overnight and cutting and frying is what I do sometimes, except I will serve it with oven roasted marinated veges or a spicy casserole or stew. I would mix in a bit of butter and parmesan before letting it cool and set to give it a really savoury taste. Haven't ever tried it sweet. Will have to do so now. Thanks for the tip!
_________________
If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.