It's all cornmeal. Grits and polenta are the same according to a farmer I know that grows corn and grinds it with a mule. The only difference is how course it's ground. Cornmeal is a little finer. I asked why he had bags labeled grits and some labeled polenta and he said it's for marketing to different people. I guess some folks think grits are beneath them and polenta is something more special. TEE HEE! I'd say use the polenta. You could always dump it in the food processor if you want to grind it a little finer.

You need the cornmeal for a recipe involving making a bread or cake. Cornmeal is almost a corn flour.

Polenta and grits are virtually the same, though probably made from different corn species. Cornmeal is quite different. Can anyone imagine making cornbread with grits?

I did think maybe cornmeal was just a finer version of polenta, but oh boy, I hadn't even thought of grits....never in my life have I had them.

So that's even something different than polenta and corn meal? I'm clueless. Guess I'll go buy cornmeal for the bread and make some more corn cakes with the polenta! lol

Thanks for sharing!! (still don't know what grits are!) lol

What makes them different is the coarseness of grind, the texture. Corn meal is finer than polenta. They can be interchanged, but the results may differ.

Here is a link that might be useful: discussion about it

I'm pretty sure it is all about the grind but honestly they are all interchangeable. I make tamales every year at Christmas time and I always use "Masa" which is a very smooth corn product "cornflour" and I have some left every year so I don't waste it. I make it into polenta or cornbread or the best way to use it is tortillas.

Thanks for the link and the education! I know not to use polenta for cornbread....unless I grind it a bit more.
Still don't get grits....sounds like cream of wheat to me....(yuck!)

lol...it is like cream of wheat or rice..grainey...but i eat mine like cream of wheat with butter, brown sugar, and milk/cream...

Love love love hoe cake! My MIL helped me make it perfecto.

Had the most awesome polenta on a cruise.

Was cut into squares, with an awesome mushroom sauce.

I've never had polenta either; looks interesting though. Do those of you that eat it make it from scratch or buy those tubes of it? I really want to try it. And is it typically always served with a sauce? I've seen it served with a marinara type sauce.

And Glenda, what is hoe cake?

You wouldn't think that that tube of stuff could be very different than the stuff you cook at home, but I sure can taste a difference and won't buy the tube again. It's practically tasteless.

Alton Brown of "Good Eats" did a show on cornmeal and polenta, he says they are the same thing. My MIL was Italian, made polenta several ways, but she "put down" Southern cooking. Unless it was Southern Italian!

All I can add, is as a kid my Dad made cornmeal mush. That's what is was called and he put it in a loaf pan sliced and fried it and it was delish .
Now all these years, it's Polenta, polenta, and polenta!
Not trying to start any hassle, just think if it walks like a duck, quacks like duck well . . . You can charge more money for it !

This was a little tongue in cheek . . . Just saying,

Red

That's funny, red. When I was growing up, my dad made polenta on Fridays because it was so cheap and fish was expensive. I hated it. Though Dad was a great cook, I thought his polenta was awful punishment. I love it now, though, without the marinara he so loved on it.

It's hilarious that it is so fashionable and expensive now.

Sorry for more questions, but polenta - is it something you always make and then fry? I guess I better do some googling and just try the stuff! Thanks again everyone for your input. Love how people help around here! :)

Love fried cornbread! Must be cooked in bacon fat or lard.

Fried Cornbread

* 1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* about 2 cups boiling water

Mix cornmeal and salt together in large mixing bowl. Pour approximately 2 cups boiling water over dry ingredients. Mix well. After the mixture cools slightly, shape mixture into balls about the size of golf balls, one at a time. You must wet your hands with water before you make each ball. Flatten the ball with your fingers. Fry in skillet (preferably cast iron) with about 1/2 inch of hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

No, juellie, it isn't always fried. I dearly love polenta/cornmeal cooked into a thick gloppy mess with heaps of parmesan cheese and cream melted and stirred into it served as a bed for either a lamb shank with gravy or braised boar with gravy, or roast beef with gravy. See a theme there, LOL? I love gravy on polenta!

Hoe cake is mixture of cornmeal warm water and salt to taste.

It has to be just the right oonsistency, not too thick and not too thin.

Then poured onto a hot cast iron griddle that has bacon grease, preferably.

Cook it on one side until the top is dry and edges are crispy.

Remove by sliding onto a plate, regrease the griddle.

With another plate flip the hoe cake and slide onto the griddle and cook until done.

Remove and spread butter over the top and cut into wedges.

Once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake :o)

This is what the hoe cake I make is supposed to look like. This is Paula Deen's withi okra in hers. I never put okra in mine. So good with homemade vegetable soup, chili, or fresh veggies.

{{!gwi}}

Mine isn't as lacy as the above picture
The edges are lacy and the center is more bready and it is FLAT.

Covers the whole griddle when you pour it.