This is from a "Trivia Facts" email someone sent me.  Probably more than you want to know about grits! Kat

WHAT ARE GRITS AND HOMINY?

Grits are small broken grains of corn, first produced by Native Americans centuries ago. Both "corn" grits and "hominy" grits are made. In making corn grits, whole white hybrid corn is dried to a 14% moisture content, then each kernel is cleaned with forced air. The kernels of grain are run through a mill stone where they are ground to a certain texture and then sifted through two wire mesh screens. The three products
sorted are white corn meal, white corn grits and the bran that pops off. There is a fine bran still in the grits product. This bran will never soften up with cooking. Depending on personal preference, the bran can be left in or removed by rinsing the grits before cooking. Hominy is made from field corn that is soaked in lye or "potash" water and stirred over the next day or two until the entire shell or bran comes loose and rises to the top. The kernel itself swells to twice its
original size. After the remaining kernels have been rinsed several times, they are spread to dry either on cloth or screen dryers.