Aine, my friend, and all: Being a science teacher, I have a sometimes unfortunate habit of explaining why simple things are the way they are; drives some of my friends crazy. Forget the history of refrigeration; that just lets us store them longer without having to have our own mill to grind fresh grits. If you can get them fresh ground, they take longer to cook but after one try you'll say, like I did, "I never really had grits before this!". I'm not demanding that you try them. This is a hot tip.

Chet