How many grams to a cup of stone ground grits (raw)?

estherdragonbat

My google-fu is failing me. Cornmeal seems to come in at 150-170 grams on the sites I've been checking out, though I'm not sure if that's exactly the same thing. Help?

CyberTone

156g per cup per USDA
Basic Report: 08090, Cereals, corn grits, white, regular and quick, enriched, dry
Source: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/1831

estherdragonbat

Thank you!

OldHobo

Bob's Red Mill is the brand I use. That label says 1/4 cup, dry is 35 grams. So 1 cup = 140 grams.
The finer the grind, the heavier a cup will be.

estherdragonbat

Good to know, thanks!

OldHobo

I just realized that I misread the original post. Was thinking we were talking about grits which tend to be an extremely coarse grind. Regular cornmeal is more like flour in that the weight of a cup can vary an awful lot depending on how packed down it is. That's why bakers formulas, recipes that is, always use weight. If you were to get real persnickety about measuring flour you would sift it into a cup, then use a knife to level off the top.

lynn_glenmont

OldHobo wrote: »

Bob's Red Mill is the brand I use. That label says 1/4 cup, dry is 35 grams. So 1 cup = 140 grams.
The finer the grind, the heavier a cup will be.

This is true.

Checking nutrition label images for different brands sold on Amazon suggests that all stone ground grits are not ground to the same coarseness, because I saw weights for a quarter cup ranging from 34 to 40 g.

However, @estherdragonbat, if you're asking for purposes of counting calories, using the weight and any accurate entry for a whole grain corn product (whether it's cornmeal, stone ground grits, or more finely ground grits) should be good enough. By weight, it's all the same amount of food and calories.

If you're asking for cooking purposes (to get the right amount of water), err on the high side for the water and just cook it longer if it's too thin (this is a matter of taste, anyway -- you can always use more or less water, within reason, when cooking something like grits, to get the final consistency you like.

estherdragonbat

OldHobo wrote: »

I just realized that I misread the original post. Was thinking we were talking about grits which tend to be an extremely coarse grind. Regular cornmeal is more like flour in that the weight of a cup can vary an awful lot depending on how packed down it is. That's why bakers formulas, recipes that is, always use weight. If you were to get real persnickety about measuring flour you would sift it into a cup, then use a knife to level off the top.

Actually, you didn't. When I typed into Google, "How many grams in a cup of stone-ground grits," most of the links took me to cornmeal. I wasn't sure whether it was the same thing; I was looking up polenta not too long ago and got some information about how polenta and grits aren't processed the same way, even though they are both corn-derived. Because of that, I wasn't positive whether something about the production might make the resulting meal denser or lighter (which could mean that 100 grams of normal corn meal wouldn't be the same volume as 100 grams of grits, even though they are both ground corn products).

Thanks everyone for your help!

OldHobo

Grits is a name used for at least a couple of similar products. Throughout most of the south grits means coarsely ground dried white hominy. Hominy, of course, being corn treated with an alkaline solution in a process often called nixtamalization. Suspect this is the different process you were reading about. In pockets of south though grits is made from coarsely ground whole yellow corn. Bob's Red Mill Polenta/Corn Grits is an example of that second type. Many online discussions with European home cooks who make polenta frequently has convinced me it is the same product. Now, you'll be able to find people and websites who disagree with some or all of this. Such is life in the interwebz.
Ground corn or ground hominy, either way, I think density variations are primarily a function of coarser versus finer milling.

nowine4me

I like Geechee Boy grits - blue, yellow or white. No info on package. I wing it.

OldHobo

Never heard of Geechee Boy. What a great store and line of products! Not surprising they're in So. Carolina. Little out of my price range though.

lorrpb

Measure out 1/4 c of tbe brand used then weigh it.