Why Stone-Ground Grits Change Everything

Instant grits cook in three minutes. Stone-ground grits take 35. The other 32 minutes are why you love grits in the first place. Slow cooking releases starch that turns the cooking liquid silky, and the cracked-corn texture of stone-ground grits never goes pasty the way the instant kind do.

Buy from a real mill. Geechie Boy, Marsh Hen Mill, Anson Mills, and a handful of regional millers grind grits coarse enough that you can see the corn. They cost about three times more than the grocery store cardboard tube, and they last in your freezer for the better part of a year.

Cook them in equal parts water and milk, season with salt, and stir often. The first ten minutes feel like nothing is happening. By minute twenty the kernels start to swell. By minute thirty the bowl gets glossy. Stir in butter and sharp cheese at the very end. Spoon hot grits into shallow bowls and pile shrimp, sausage, or smoked pork shoulder on top.