So how did this come about? A new local produce market is the start of our story. We have been meaning to go into the City Produce store since seeing it but have just never made it there. So we decided that we were going before Alex deployed. So we went and it was a lovely store! They had all kinds of great local in season produce. If it was not cheaper than a grocery store it was at least equally priced. So I know several grocery stores that are losing my business to this new store. Unfortunately it does not have a website so I cannot give this store due credit. But if you are in the Fort Walton Beach area and do not know where the place is located feel free to contact me. But I digress. While in the store we found some indian corn half priced. Alex suggested that for $1.35 for a bag of 8 mini ears of corn we could feed the birds. So we bought it. When we got home Alex or as I call him the Dreammaker, thought there must be something else we could do with it besides feed the birds. And what did he find? A couple of websites talking about grinding indian corn into grits and cornmeal. And so the dream was born!!
Now we just had to figure out the equipment necessary and if we had the inclination. HA! Who am I kidding? Of course we had the inclination. This is us we are talking about here. So now the fun....labor intensive....part of the process. We rounded up bowls and trashbags and mortle and pestle and food processor and spice grinders and set to work. First up was getting the kernels off the cob. This was suprisingly easy...at least for me, you see I just sat there and watched Alex pluck them all off!
Then we tried the mortle and pestle to crack the corn before grinding. However this was not the best idea. It not only did NOT crack the corn but it dirtied something that did not need to be dirtied.
Next we tried the food processor. I did not place a whole lot of kernels in the processor but this was also a bust. Perhaps is would have worked if I had filled it to the top. But I was nervous that the mini food processor was going to break. So next up was my spice grinder or coffee grinder. And it worked beautifully...for a little while. Unfortunately after doing one bag of mini corn the edge on one of my blades broke off! AHHH!! I was so upset. But the more we thought about it we realized that my coffee grinder was not made to withstand the force of grinding corn and especially on such a large scale. We were disheartened and with Cub Scouts that night we put a hold on everything.
So now it is a new day and a new perspective. Alex realized we were idiots for not pulling out the meat grinder! Oh man what were we thinking yesterday?? So now we were cooking with peanut oil! So lets pull out the corn and get started!
Alex pulled out the meat grinder and set to work grinding! At first the corn was flying everywhere. Part of it was hitting the plate under the grinder but other parts were hitting the walls behind Alex and in front of him. So he got creative and rubber banded a gallon sized bag around the grinder and collected all the cracked corn. Score one for us!! Now our process is by far not the best or easiest or quickest method to get grits and cornmeal. But it worked and that is why I am sharing with you. If you have a large coffee grinder and I mean a handcranked one that might be easier. But we did not so we used what we had. First we cracked the corn with the meat grinder.
After the first grind I sifted with a mesh strainer to get the cornmeal pieces out. My mesh strainer is plastic and it got the job done. Once the cornmeal was out I dumped the pieces leftover in a collander.
I realized the night before that whatever passed through one of my smaller holed collanders was the perfect grit size. So everything that passed through was considered grits and everything else got another pass through the meat grinder.
And there was quite a bit of large pieces in the collander when I was done. Some pieces were barely cracked while others ran right through the grinder without getting any smaller. But it was a step we felt was necessary to save my coffee grinder. So we did another pass doing the exact same thing. Meat grinder, mesh strainer, collander.
Now it is time for the coffee grinder. We decided to continue using my broken coffee grinder if if would still grind corn. And it did. So we saved our new spice grinder and continued to use the broken bladed one. And you know what? I went through all the corn in the bowls you saw above. So its not that bad huh? This time it gets a little tricky. I placed the setting of the coffee grinder on various speeds and coarseness. Once I got it right I let it run and then do the same straining process. Run it through the mesh strainer to get out the cornmeal.
Then run it through the colander to get out the grit sized pieces.
Next dump it into a bowl or run it back through the spice grinder if you have enough to run back through. We did. I ran it through the spice grinder twice. And what was ever leftover became food for the birds. But to be honest between all the corn we had we only had 1/4c of birdfood. Not too shabby. And what do we have to show for it??
What you are looking at in the back in the measuring cup is our leftovers. On the left we have yellow indian corn grits and cornmeal and on the right we have multi-colored indian corn grits and cornmeal. Although if we are being honest here I have left some out. We ate some purple grits last night for dinner and I placed some in a cannister. So we had a little more purple grits than is shown in the picture. We started with 8 bags of corn. We had 4 bags of large corn with 3 ears each and then 4 bags of mini corn with 6-8 ears each.
So whats the verdict? The grits were good. They tasted like....well...grits. And I suppose its a good thing too since they were in fact grits. But it was a lot of work. But if this lasts us for awhile then perhaps it is for the best. If I were to receive free indian corn I would do it all over again. If the economy collapses I will not be short of grits since I have the ability to make my own. But if I run out, I will more than likely go back to buying my cornmeal and grits from the store. But you know what? They will make a nice showy item of food for someone one day. And to be honest thats really why I do these things. Its showy and flashy and fun. Because who has purple grits in their freezer? This girl, thats who!!
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