What IS a Grit?

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with an English family we’ve made the acquaintance of through our church. I say fortunate not only because they are a truly lovely family of six with the most interesting, funny, and polite kids you have ever met in your life, but also because Americans seem to have lost the fine art (or perhaps we never had it?) of a traditional Sunday roast blending via a leisurely afternoon (complete with a cricket match in the garden) into a four o’clock break for tea.

And it was precisely during that late afternoon respite that the subject – not so uncommon amongst our English friends – of the perfect cup of tea surfaced in our conversation.

To add some humble humor to the dialogue, I recounted the first time I served tea to English friends – a horrifying experience for them, and (the more I learn about this revered drink) an embarrassing yet comical recollection for me. As a true coffee-loving American, one might not even appreciate the fact that I proudly (read: ignorantly) presented a teapot of hot water with a respectable selection of herbal teas, a large bowl of sugar, and a bit of milk on the side. Horrors!

After the laughter died down, the master of the house – who, at hearing my pathetic tea service attempt, actually looked as much on the brink of genuine tears as caught laughing to the point of them – cleared his throat and calmly proceeded to explain to me the real way to make a cuppa. I learned a few things that afternoon to add to the repertoire of knowledge I’ve gleaned on the subject over the past two years.

I’m not quite sure how the banter turned to grits, but it soon did, and our chance to return the teasing had arrived: despite hearing of this Southern specialty, they hadn’t a clue what actually makes up “a grit.”

Now, try explaining grits to an Englishman. Perhaps you’d do better than we did in our attempt to describe the gritty taste yet creamy cooked texture of this ground up corn. Eventually they started guessing the resemblance to similar, known food items: “Is it comparable to porridge?” questioned one. “Like couscous?” inquired another. “Like POPCORN in a PUDDING?!” queried another excitedly.

Like popcorn in a pudding. You know, life in on this side of the pond can be genuinely fun sometimes.