Recipe for cooking grits

[Glen]

GRITS Maíz a medio moler

1 cup boiling water, 4 tbsp. grits, dash of salt. Slowly stir grits into rapidly boiling water that has been salted to taste. Cook 3-5 minutes over direct heat, stirring slowly. Remove and stir until thick.
En la olla, poner a hervir una taza de agua con una pizca de sal. Cuando el agua entre en ebullición franca, añadir a las 4 cucharadas de grits. Cocer de 3 a 5 minutos, revolviéndolo lentamente. Quitarlo del fuego y revolverlo hasta que se ponga espeso.


This is for a dual-language label on a small bag. True, my translation is not word-for-word but I wanted only to give the sense of it. How could the Spanish be improved, for a primarily Mexican audience?

[JPablo]

Not sure about the Mexican audience, (Angélica will be the one to say it) but I'd check few things,

"pizca" - "poquito" ?

"ebullición franca"? - plena ebullición?

grits? - sémola de maíz?

"Salted to taste" = "sazonada al gusto"?

Just my questions... (probably more would come up if I try a bit harder, but hopefully that will assist you some...)

[Glen]

Thanks, JPablo. I had already looked into sémola de maíz but decided against it when I found it's really closer in texture to finely-ground flour, like harina (?) while grits are more coarsely-ground. But hey, I'm no expert!

[Elaina]

Usually.....

full boil - hervor completo (cuando esté hirviendo)
grits - sémola de maíz (harina de maíz grüesa??)

Do Mexican people eat "grits"? I don't think it is a dish typically prepared in Mexico.... unless it is referred to as atole which is a much smoother consistency than grits and atole or champurrado is drunk and not eaten as grits....

[Glen]

No, not that I know of, and that's probably why the charitable organization for which I volunteer asked me to try to explain them. The organization receives regular donations of them, to be transferred to smaller bags and given to clients who are in need of food assistance.
The corn is, of course, ground only to the consistency of small grains of sand so that's why I thought of maíz a medio moler. Is such a term too literal?

[JPablo]

Well, sémola, don't seem too far away...
2 Trigo u otro cereal, por ejemplo arroz, reducido a granos menudos, pero mucho más gruesos que los de harina, que se emplea para *sopa.

Otherwise, yes, maíz a medio moler, sounds a bit literal, "maíz grueso" or "maíz molido" probably would probably be better, o like Elaina says...

[Elaina]

You know, grits are not that good just boiled with salt ... maybe you can doctor the recipe so that it sounds more appealing to people. A little cheese, a little jalapeño, a little garlic. If there is one thing I know is that Mexican people are very creative.

Grits are also known as corn meal so "harina de maíz quebrado" o "a medio moler" might work.

That's wonderful work you do!

Thank you for doing it!

[aleCcowaN]

¡Hmmm! ¡Polenta! (Homer-like noises)

Harina de maíz para polenta
Harina de maíz molida grueso

It can't be "a medio moler" if it takes 3 to 5 minutes to get it "cooked". It has to be the like of "polenta mágica" (instant grits)

Vinny Gambini: Is it possible the two defendants entered the store, picked 22 specific items off of the shelves, had the clerk take money, make change, then leave. Then two different men drive up in a similar -
[Seeing Mr. Tipton shake his head no]
Vinny Gambini: Don't shake your head, I'm not done yet. Wait till you hear the whole thing, so you can understand this, now. Two different men drive up in a similar-looking car, go in, shoot the clerk, rob him, and then leave?
Mr. Tipton: No. They didn't have enough time.
Vinny Gambini: Well, how much time was they in the store?
Mr. Tipton: Five minutes.
Vinny Gambini: Five minutes? Are you sure? Did you look at your watch?
Mr. Tipton: No.
Vinny Gambini: Oh, oh, oh, I'm sorry. You testified earlier that the boys went into the store, and you had just begun to make breakfast. You were just ready to eat, and you heard a gunshot. That's right, I'm sorry. So, obviously, it takes you five minutes to make breakfast.
Mr. Tipton: That's right.
Vinny Gambini: Right, so you knew that. Uh, do you remember what you had?
Mr. Tipton: Eggs and grits.
Vinny Gambini: Eggs and grits. I like grits, too. How do you cook your grits? Do you like them regular, creamy or al dente?
Mr. Tipton: Just regular, I guess.
Vinny Gambini: Regular. Instant grits?
Mr. Tipton: No self-respectin' Southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits.
Vinny Gambini: So, Mr. Tipton, how could it take you five minutes to cook your grits, when it takes the entire grit-eating world twenty minutes?
Mr. Tipton: [a bit panicky] I don't know. I'm a fast cook, I guess.
Vinny Gambini: I'm sorry, I was all the way over here. I couldn't hear you. Did you say you were a fast cook? That's it?
[Mr. Tipton nods in embarrassment]
Vinny Gambini: Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than on any place on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know.
Vinny Gambini: Well, perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove. Were these magic grits? I mean, did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?

From My Cousin Vinny (1992)

[aleCcowaN]

[Glen]

Thanks to all of you. I'm now leaning toward sémola de maíz as a definition, and would welcome any other ideas.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Glen

Thanks to all of you. I'm now leaning toward sémola de maíz as a definition, and would welcome any other ideas.

Like Alec told you, we call it Polenta.

[Glen]

Just learned a new one this morning while cooking grits with some people from México and asking what they would call it. They said maíz amartajado. What about that?

[aleCcowaN]

Anything martajado is something ground using a mortar. If it is a hard grain, it is processed to become a coarse irregular product with particles too big as to be considered sémola. If it is some sort of soft grain or vegetable, it is processed to become a non homogeneous paste, like hummus or the paste used to make falafel.

Maybe maíz amartajado is closer to what is used to make hominy than the regular product used to make grits.

[Glen]

Ah, thanks. Sorry to belabor the point, and Moderators, feel free to move this to Vocabulary if need be. In addition to all the helpful posts regarding the preparation procedure, my pals this morning verified its understandability.

[JPablo]

So, your final conclusion is maíz amartajado? (For your target-audience)

[Glen]

Yes for now, at least until we hear what Angélica thinks of it.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

It's sold here (in the exotic section of the supermarkets and in some fancy stores) as polenta; it usually comes from South America or Europe, but I'd go with Pablo's suggestion, which is the actual name for it.

Here's my proposal:

Originally Posted by Glen

GRITS Sémola de Maíz.

(En una olla,) (this may be ellided) poner a hervir una taza de agua con una pizca de sal. Cuando (el agua) entre en ebullición franca está hirviendo, añadir a (If you say "a las 4 cucharadas", then you have to pour the water on the flour) las 4 cucharadas de grits. Cocer de 3 a 5 minutos, revolviéndolo lentamente. Quitarlo del fuego y revolverlo hasta que se ponga espeso espese/esté espeso.

@Pablo:

Originally Posted by JPablo

"pizca" - "poquito" ? Not for "formal" cooking.

"ebullición franca"? - plena ebullición? Cuando esté hirviendo, cuando hierva... We usually associate "ebullición" with laboratories.

grits? - sémola de maíz?

"Salted to taste" = "sazonada al gusto"? Agregar sal al gusto / con sal al gusto. "Sazonar" implies more than salt.

Originally Posted by Elaina

Do Mexican people eat "grits"?

No, we don't.

Originally Posted by Elaina

I don't think it is a dish typically prepared in Mexico.... unless it is referred to as atole which is a much smoother consistency than grits and atole or champurrado is drunk and not eaten as grits....

Atole, as you say, it's a very different thing. Even champurrado, which is made with dough for tortillas, is nothing like grits.
What might be similar, is "avena" (like oatmeal), but it's usually rather served sweet, not salted.

Originally Posted by Glen

Just learned a new one this morning while cooking grits with some people from México and asking what they would call it. They said maíz martajado. What about that?

I have never heard "amartajado", but I wonder... "maíz quebrado" and "maíz martajado" both would make me think of a coarser grinding. If I had to describe it, I'd say "maíz molido grueso", but "sémola de maíz" should be enough, I think.

[Glen]

Many thanks, Angélica and others, now people will better understand the label on the bag. You've all been a big help!

[poli]

Polenta is usually made with yellow corn, Grits are made with white corn (I'm a northerner, so maybe I'm wrong. We don't eat gits much).
Isn't the word in Spanish mote, or is that whole dry corn kernals like hominy in English or is that canchas. I've heard marrota de maiz and funche too, but I think that those terms are is strictly Puerto Rican. Can someone confirm this?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I'd never heard any of the dishes you mentioned, Poli, but for what I see by googling the terms, only "funche" looks like grits or polenta. The others (mote, canchas and marota) seem to be prepared with whole corn kernels, as you said, like hominy. I'm going to try some of those recipes.