Grit (going back to
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''grytt'' or ''grytta'' or ''gryttes''
[The ''OED'' gives the following earliest references: ''Epinal Gloss''. 823 Pullis, grytt. c1000 ÆLFRIC ''Gloss.'' in Wr.-Wülcker 141/20 ''Apludes'' uel ''cantabra,'' hwæte gryttan. c1000 ''Sax. Leechd.'' II. 220 oððe grytta. a1100 ''Ags. Voc. '' in Wr.-Wülcker 330/33 ''Furfures, '' gretta. 11.. ''Voc.'' ibid. 505/13 ''Polline, '' gryttes. a1225 ''Ancr.'' R. 186 þis is Godes heste, þet him is muchele leouere þen þet tu ete gruttene bread, oð er werie herde here.]) is an almost extinct word for
bran
Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of Cereal, cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with cereal germ, germ, it is an integral pa ...
,
chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
, or mill-dust. It is also used for oats that have been husked but not ground, or that have been only coarsely ground—coarse
oatmeal
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...
.
The word continues to exist in modern dishes like
grits
Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are oft ...
, an American corn (
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
)-based food common in the Southern United States, consisting of coarsely ground corn; and the German
red grits, Rote Grütze, a traditional pudding made of summer berries and starch and sugar. Grit here was the cheap supplier of starch. Gruels of grit, oatmeal grit preferably, were standard European nutrition of the lower classes in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period.
See also
*
List of porridges
Porridge is a dish made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped starchy plants (typically grains) in water, milk, or both, with optional flavorings, and is usually served hot in a bowl or dish. It may be served as a sweet or savory dish, dependin ...
References
External links
OED on word usage, restricted access
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grit (Grain)
Cereals
Porridges