They don’t look like bugs…

I've thought that in the past as well, but it's merely black specs from the corn. I also see them in grits.

<The black specks are simply naturally dark pieces of the pericarp (skin) of the corn, where the tip of the kernel attaches to the cob. The color of the specks will vary by crop and year. They are the same as those commonly seen in hard taco shells, corn or tortilla chips, cornmeal, and natural whole corn products. >

from Bob's Red Mill " The black/dark specks you see in your grits are the particles of germ that are left in the product. The germ of the corn kernel is naturally darker in color and it is absolutely normal to see grey/black/dark flecks throughout your corn grits."

Grits and polenta are close to being the same.

Whew! Thanks!

I was going to say what Lars said.

Coarse-ground cornmeal (from any source) looks like that.

fwiw weevils are more uniform in size and you can easily see their legs and pointy noses.

Yes, I wasn’t seeing legs 😁

😂 🤣 😅 LOL!!! He's probably right.

Grit corn is a different variety than sweet corn. The husks on the kernels are dark yellow and can take on a reddish brown tinge. That's where the colored bits come from. That's why white cornmeal was traditionally treated with lye, to deal with the tough husk. But I like the texture of the coarse ground cornmeal. It cooks soft but not a silky texture like the white stuff . . . I like that too. And then there's red and blue corn . . . I think even they are white on the inside . . .

Corn comes in lots of colors and one of them is white but that is only one reason grits can be white. White grits come in two forms, relatively finely grown regular corn that happens to be white or there is Hominy Grits which is made from corn that has been treated with lime or lye to soften and loosen the outer tough shell of the corn kernel. The processing makes the corn white and soft and easier to grind. It also makes corn more nutritious in that it puts the niacin in the corn into a form we can digest and use. Not knowing why corn was nixtamalized (name for the process) led to people getting vitamin deficiencies in strange places like northern Italy when they took so thoroughly to corn in the form of polenta which is just regular ground corn and not treated. Hominy grits can have that same black fleck because it is the very base of the corn kernel in field corn.

People really got niacin deficiencies in Northern Italy from eating too much untreated ground corn? That is quite astonishing! Hubs always wonders why I insist on eating a variety of whole grains . . . bet he doesn't know about this . . .

It is called Pellagra. It used to be a big problem in the American south as well with the very poor who relied on corn pone as a main meal. That entire cultures used to rely so heavily on corn with no problem made it seem strange but of course tortillas were made from ground hominy. Vegetables especially leafy greens make up the difference so poor people with access to greens like collards would be fine. I learned all this by accident while reading up on Beriberi. That is Thiamine deficiency, another of the B vitamins.

Thank goodness one of my favorite meals is "beans and greens" which I serve with a variety of whole grains, often over polenta but sometimes brown rice or whole wheat pasta. I love learning about food science and its intersection with culture, thanks for the explanation!!

In one of my job iterations, I had to do historical foodways demonstrations related to a small log cabin homestead. It had a corn crib, but I had a heck of a time finding dried dent corn for a corn shelling and grinding demonstration, that was suitable for human consumption based on modern standards. Of course that's how all those "fermented" corn products got their start too probably . . . I just wasn't connected to the right circles . . . the corncrib was full of corn but it was all rancid and buggy . . . they sell it around here for feeding wildlife but this was in an urban situation . . . I was trying to find some that someone would donate . . .

Anyway, that and other experiences turned me into a food trivia weenie. Like why you can't make good farm cheese out of the average bottle of pasteurized goat milk . . . who knew?! :) Finding any type of goat's milk for purchase was a struggle back then. The goat lady gave me some for the demo from her milking demonstration, but no one could taste that stuff due to food safety laws . . . We made a lot of food and then gave out purchased samples of a similar product but not the one we were demonstrating . . .