It wasn’t only a few months after South Carolina native Ryan Moretti found himself transplanted in Portland, Oregon, that he became homesick.   Not being able to find the comfort foods from home like grits, boiled peanuts, barbecue, and sweet tea only made it worse.  Even finding those things online presented it’s own challenges.  That’s when the idea for DixieNative.com was born.  Though it took a few years and a move back home, he launched the site in early 2012 as a way to offer folks around the world quality stone ground grits no matter where they live.  His site features local stone ground grits in a variety of types and flavors like white, yellow, jalapeno, and garlic cheese.  In the future, Ryan says he hopes to offer more than just grits.  “We are quickly growing and plan to offer other southern made products in the near future, including boiled peanuts, Georgia peaches, sweet teas, and other regionally produced items,” he said.

While I’ll admit I sometimes use the quick grits for time’s sake, nothing compares to the flavor of good ol’ stone ground grits when you have the time.  We do breakfast for supper every now and then and I always serve stone ground grits then.  And I can attest first-hand to the quality and flavor of Dixie Native’s offerings.  There’s just something about the flavor of stone ground grits that quick grits can’t come close to. What’s the difference between quick grits and stone ground grits, you ask?  Ryan says, “Quick grits or instant grits are different from stone ground grits for several reasons.  Stone ground grits are ground between two cool granite stone in gristmills, while quick grits are ground between hot steel rollers in a factory.  This steel roller process is much quicker, but many of the essential oils are lost in the process.  Additionally, factories remove the heart of the corn during processing.  This helps to keep the grits from going bad, and therefore gives them a longer shelf life.  Unfortunately, most of the corn oils are contained in this heart that is removed.  Stone ground grits still contain the heart of the kernel.  The gives the grits a much shorter shelf life, but provides a much greater flavor.”

For more info info on Dixie Native, visit their website and Facebook page or give them a call at 843-879-8875.

Ryan has also graciously offered to give away a wonderful prize pack filled with a variety of the grits he offers.  The winner will receive:

Two 8 oz. Bags of Garlic Cheese Grits
Two 8 oz. Bags of Jalapeno Cheese Grits
2lb. Bag of White Stone Ground Grits
2lb. Bag of Yellow Stone Ground Grits
2lb. Bag of Mixed Stone Ground Grits
 

To enter: Simply leave a comment below.  The winner will be drawn at random.  The contest ends September 19th at midnight, so enter now!

 

Details:  No purchase necessary.  Contest ends September 19th at 11:59 pm CST.  Winner will be chosen at random.  Odds of winning depend on the total number of entries.  Winner will be notified by email and must claim prize within 48 hours.  US residents only.  Void where prohibited.
Disclosure:  The prize is provided by DixieNative.com.