Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Grits

I have tried to figure out exactly what grits are. Everyone seems to know what they are when they are cooked, but nobody can agree on the starting product.  

I suspect a majority of grits served in average restaurants t today are the “Quick Grits” variety. But, what did our ancestors eat? What is this “hominy grits”? Is it actually made from hominy corn that has been dried, then ground? 

I have read that Quaker actually makes hominy grits. I wrote to them for a definitive answer.  

It appears they have a process of removing the germ without going through the whole nixtamalization process. Here is their response:

 

Eric:

Thanks for writing to us about Quaker Enriched White Hominy Grits. We appreciate the chance to respond to your inquiries.

Quaker Grits are made from the milling of corn kernels. The important first step is to clean the kernels. The kernel is then split, which removes the hull and germ, leaving only the broken endosperm. Therefore, Quaker grits are not whole grains. The endosperm is passed through heavy steel rollers, which break it up into granules. The various sizes of granules are separated by a screening process and graded. The large size granules are the grits, while smaller sizes become corn meal or corn flour. For Instant grits, we take raw grits and add vitamins, minerals, salt, and water, then cook the grits. The cooking process removes most of the water, instantizing the grits. Following the cooking process, Quaker Instant grits are dried for packaging.