Grits, and the hominy from which they are made, are Native American staples. They were passed on to the early settlers in the New World, and must surely be partly responsible for helping them survive their first few New England winters.

Hominy was made by soaking maize in water mixed with ashes or burnt shells until the kernels puffed up and the hulls, which had by then cracked, could be removed. This treatment, which is called nixtamalization, changed the flavor and texture of the corn and made it easier to grind into flour. It also, incidentally, performed an important nutritional function. The highly alkaline soaking solution (today, a water mixed with lime is used) worked on the balance of amino acids in the corn to release niacin that could not otherwise be absorbed by the body. The result was that Native Americans did not suffer from pellagra, as the Europeans (who took the corn, but not the nixtamalizing process) later did.

Once the hominy is dried, it can be pounded into a coarse meal and made into the porridge in question. The settlers called it "groats," their word for the familiar grain porridges they knew from their home country. Over the years, "groats" has become "grits," and the dish, for some mysterious reason, is now associated almost exclusively with the southern USA.