Are cornmeal, grits and masa whole grains?
Does anyone know if cornmeal, stone-ground (not instant) grits and/or masa are whole grains?
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9 Comments:
I doubt that cornmeal or anything made from corn is whole grain, cause the grain is the kernel of corn ... to be whole you would have to eat the entire kernel, like when you eat corn on the cob.
Wiki on "whole grain"
ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_grain
redfish at 8:57AM on 10/07/09
Stone-ground can be whole grain, but not always.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2008729348_zfoo11cookqanda.html
Garvey at 9:30AM on 10/07/09
Grits are usually not whole-grain, so check the packaging and label. Cornmeal also comes in whole grain and degermed(not whole grain), but I think the common supermarket cornmeal is whole grain. Again, check the label to make sure.
Masa is whole corn that is ground and treated with lime.
jo_wang at 10:03AM on 10/07/09
Corn meal, grits and masa are processed grain- corn.
CJ McD at 12:35PM on 10/07/09
isn't grits ground hominy (hulls removed from corn)?
hmw0029 at 12:57PM on 10/07/09
If you're asking whether they are an intact, whole grain, no they are not. They are grains that have been bashed/ground into smaller pieces.
But that's not what I think you're asking. I think you're asking whether they are a whole-grain food, as in the type that's supposed to be good for you. Which is a different question entirely.
That question is akin to asking whether flour is whole grain. In can be, if it's whole-wheat flour. But it's not if it's just regular flour. You can buy cornmeal, grits, and masa that are made from whole grains or not. You need to look at the packaging. It may or may not have the info.
And just FYI. hominy grits and masa are made from a different type of corn than the stuff you're used to seeing. At a grocery store, you can see it in cans or dried, and it will be labeled hominy or pozole corn depending on where you find it. And the lime that it's treated with isn't the fruit, it's the chemical lime, like what makes limestone what it is.
Hominy/pozole comes in white or yellow most often, but you can find it in red or blue as well, in specialty markets.
Cornmeal and some other grits (and polenta) are made from corn that's more similar to regular corn that you'd eat on the cob. Not sweet corn, but neither is popcorn. But it's more like that than it's like pozole corn, which needs that lime treatment to make it better to eat.
dbcurrie at 1:46PM on 10/07/09
One of the funniest things I ever saw on TV: Dick van Dyke in cowboy jail, and saloon girl Sally brings him breakfast. He gushes about the eggs and ham and says "And hominy grits." Sally replies, "Oh I don't know--about 40 or 50."
Sorry. I couldn't resist.
betteirene at 1:52PM on 10/07/09
corn has very little nutritional value at all.
especially because America's breeds are modified genetically.
hungrychristel at 2:44PM on 10/07/09
corn has very little nutritional value at all.
especially because America's breeds are modified genetically.
hungrychristel at 2:46PM on 10/07/09