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Does recirc replace sparge?

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Ok, way off thread here, but enjoying it. As a Canadian, I have to ask, what plant does grits come from? I thought that was corn, but you said bushes?

To me it sounds like mythical plants like the spaghetti trees of Napoli.
Corn.....But we don't get it much up here. The only decent time I had it was at a local breakfast place whose co-owner had come up from Louisiana. Worth it if you can find a place that does decent 'Southern Cuisine'. Us Canucks can't prepare it for crap, but hey; at least we have poutine to trade!
:mug:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits
 
Ok, way off thread here, but enjoying it. As a Canadian, I have to ask, what plant does grits come from? I thought that was corn, but you said bushes?

To me it sounds like mythical plants like the spaghetti trees of Napoli.
It was tongue in cheek, like telling the tale of going hunting in the woods for meatloaf.
 
It was tongue in cheek, like telling the tale of going hunting in the woods for meatloaf.
Ah. As a scot, I once persuaded my Canadian wife, for about half an hour that we used to go Haggis hunting in the mountains back home. Fast little critters, like small feral pigs, found in the highlands, sadly nearly extinct now.
 
Ok, way off thread here, but enjoying it. As a Canadian, I have to ask, what plant does grits come from? I thought that was corn, but you said bushes?

To me it sounds like mythical plants like the spaghetti trees of Napoli.
I worked for a couple of weeks in Pittsburgh back in the early 80s and there was a local guy on the job there that ragged me for using the term “little bitty”. He asked what it was like where I came from. I said,”What do you think it’s like?”. He said he imagined old folks on porches with hound dogs laying around. I told him that was it exactly and that I had to buy shoes just for the trip cause they wouldn’t let us in the airport barefoot. I said all roads were dirt and all we ate was grits and turnip greens. He should stay away cause he’d hate it. He asked what the heck grits were and I gave him that story about picking grits as a kid. He said I was full of it but you could tell he wasn’t really sure.
 

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When dry grain is ground, the resulting material can be graded through screens and separated by particle size into the categories: flour, meal, and grits, with grits being the largest. When you crush your malt, you are trying to produce mostly grits.

Today, the word "grits" is mostly used to refer to maize porridge consumed mostly in the South. There are 2 main types available today at retail: hominy grits and stone ground grits. Hominy grits are ground from dried hominy, which is corn treated with an alkali (the Indians showed us how to do this) to remove the seed coat and germ. It also rearranges some of the available nutrition (Google pelagra) and alters the flavor. Tortillas and tamales are made from hominy, as it will form a dough, but Mexicans don't call it hominy--I can't remember their name for it. "Stone-ground" is the label used today for grits that are just plain ground corn, often with some of the bran and germ intact.

Either way, the enlightened man simmers grits in water until tender then serves with butter or gravy, and thanks God for grits. Corn is a miracle plant and will feed you in a hot place when very little else will.

Also makes a killer beverage when added to barley malt....
 
In brewing (and distilling) there's no such term used as a "floating sparge."
You're referring to what's known as a "batch sparge."

A batch sparge is performed by adding an amount of water to the grist after completely lautering (draining) the wort from the mash. After adding the water the grist is then stirred well in an effort to dissolve/extract the maximum amount of sugar. Then it's lautered as usual, and added to the wort previously collected.

Many brewers will do a double batch sparge, by fully draining the sparged grist before adding the second batch of sparge water. This is especially useful with higher gravity wort or thick mashes.
Then what should I call it, when I do a floating sparge?
 
Just so we stay OT because that seems to be the goal here.

Hominy grits are ground from dried hominy, which is corn treated with an alkali (the Indians showed us how to do this) to remove the seed coat and germ. It also rearranges some of the available nutrition (Google pelagra) and alters the flavor. Tortillas and tamales are made from hominy, as it will form a dough, but Mexicans don't call it hominy--I can't remember their name for it. "Stone-ground" is the label used today for grits that are just plain ground corn, often with some of the bran and germ intact.

You are describing a process called nixtamalization (where tamales and tamal get its name), and the Mexicans, among other countries and cultures, call the flour Masa Harina and the dough is Masa. Not sure if the Pelagra thing was a joke, but it kept showing me a disease.

Edit: I can haz spelling?
 
Pelagra was definitely not a joke. There was a horrible epidemic in the South after the war. Eventually it was discovered that a niacin deficiency was the cause. The niacin deficiency was caused by a diet heavily dependant on corn for calories, but without the benefit of nixtamalization. So the niacin was unavailable.

Untreated corn is perfectly safe to eat, but if you don't consume much else....pelagra.
 
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