Couscous: grain or pasta?

[RussianGirl 0]

I say pasta

Husband says grain

What do you think?

[RussianGirl 0]

Oh, man! Grain is winning!!! WTH??? It's pasta, I tell you! PASTA!

[silvanski 1]

What is Couscous? http://www.cliffordawright.com/history/couscous.html

Couscous is one of the staple foods of the Maghreb (western North Africa). Coucous is made from two different sizes of the husked and crushed, but unground, semolina of hard wheat using water to bind them. Semolina is the hard part of the grain of hard wheat (Triticum turgidum var. durum), that resisted the grinding of the relatively primitive medieval millstone. When hard wheat is ground, the endosperm--the floury part of the grain--is cracked into its two parts, the surrounding aleurone with its proteins and mineral salts and the central floury mass, also called the endosperm, which contains the gluten protein that gives hard wheat its unique properties for making couscous and pasta--that is, pasta secca or dried pasta, also called generically macaroni. Couscous is also the name for all of the prepared dishes made from hard wheat or other grains such as barley, millet, sorghum, rice, or maize.

[babybunny 2]

Pasta

[Jaylen Brit 0]

I put grain - and I love couscous

[shannon65 2]

I always thought it was a pasta

[Nessa 23]

err i think our couscous is different in brazil

[RussianGirl 0]

err i think our couscous is different in brazil

Really?

Here is what I am talking about (Ingredients: Precooked medium grain semolina):

It is SOOOOOOO good!!!!!

[PlatyPius 5]

I think there really are two different versions of couscous, which leads to the confusion.

"Couscous is the separated grain of the wheat plant. When dried and milled, it becomes semolina flour, which is what pasta is made out of. However, as a grain, it makes a terrific rice substitute that has the advantage of being more flavorful (nutty with an interesting texture as long as it is not over cooked) as well as about five times quicker to make than rice."

However, I've bought couscous that was MADE from semolina flour; ie: a pasta.

[Nessa 23]

err i think our couscous is different in brazil

Really?

Here is what I am talking about (Ingredients: Precooked medium grain semolina):

It is SOOOOOOO good!!!!!

Really. Here's an example:

We call Cuscuz Paulista, the recipe has tomato sauce, water, corn oil, chicken sauce, green pimento, red pimento, hearts of palms, peas, red pepper sauce, 2 eggs, 2 cans of sardine, green olives, and finally yellow corn flour. It's called cuscuz because of the yellow corn flour than when mixed with boiled water becomes like a pasta. Well that's the best i can explain this recipe in english

[Sister Fracas 5]

either way, I like potato better!

[rejane 1]

Grain, grain....

Love couscous....

[perfect 39]

Actualy you're both right!

Couscous (called maftoul in Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories), is a food of the Maghreb. This dish, with a name derived from Maghreb Arabic kuskusu, which is from Tamazight seksu, is a food which consists of grains made from semolina which are about 1 mm or 1/16th inch in diameter (after cooking).

Couscous was traditionally made from the hard part of the hard wheat Triticum durum, the part of the grain that resisted the grinding of the relatively primitive millstone. The name is also used for prepared dishes made from other grains, such as barley, millet, sorghum, rice, or maize.

Couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew. The dish is the primary staple food throughout the Maghreb; in much of Algeria, eastern Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya it is simply known as ta`aam طعام, "food". It is popular in the Maghreb, the West African Sahel, in France, in western Sicily's Trapani province, and parts of the Middle East. It is also very popular among Jews of North African descent, but has a Berber origin.

In the United States couscous is known as a type of pasta, probably reflecting the influence of Sicilian immigrants. However in most other countries it is treated more like a grain in its own right. It is particularly valued for its rapid preparation time.

[*Robert* 2]

what the hell is couscous?!!!

[babybunny 2]

either way, I like potato better!

me too..