Help! How can I tell if my stone-ground grits are still good?

[Kelly]

So - I'm having people over for dinner tonight and am making braised Tuscan duck legs.

I was just going to cook up some pappardelle to go with, but rummaging in my cupboard, I found a bag of stone ground white grits that a friend gave me -- oh -- probably two years ago. They've been sitting in their original paper (unsealed) bag, sealed inside a plastic ziploc bag, since then -- not refrigerated or frozen (I know, I'm stupid).

There's no lovely corny smell when I stick my nose in.

What do we think? A lost cause, not worth wasting homemade stock on?

I've got the icky pseudo-instant fine-ground polenta that's all I can find in Brussels as well...

[paulj]

How about cooking the grits in salted water? Then taste. If there is not off-taste (i.e. rancid) then use them Won't most of the flavor be coming from the duck and its sauce? You can enhance the flavor of the grits/polenta with butter, olive oil, adequate salt and pepper, and grated cheese. Isn't that what you would do to enhance the flavor of the pappardelle?

[lcool]

There should be nothing wrong.Maybe too stale.Some grinds loose the aroma very soon after processing.Check,take a tiny amount,moisten it,warm it up in the micro or stove top (stir in a non-stick pan to sweat)If it's a dud you will know. Bird food?