# Is couscous pasta? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063 "2004-05-07T20:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/21 "2004-05-09T11:44:27Z")
Since like **Clairobscur** I’m French I’ve decided to bravely ignore the ironic comments of my mom about this couscous question and to snap a few pics of the kind we had laying there: [http://membres.lycos.fr/lazzftm/sdmb/couscous.jpg](http://membres.lycos.fr/lazzftm/sdmb/couscous.jpg) (with a tablespoon, for size comparison purpose) [http://membres.lycos.fr/lazzftm/sdmb/couscous2.jpg](http://membres.lycos.fr/lazzftm/sdmb/couscous2.jpg) (close up of some grains on my fingers -I have small hands-) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/22 "2004-05-10T08:27:05Z")
I always see pasta as exclusively an Italian thing. I don’t see Chinese noodles as pasta either nor couscous. If someone told me they had “pasta” for dinner last night, I would presume they meant spaghetti, penne, tagliatelle etc. A pasta restaurant would likewise imply Italian food. That might be just how I like to use the term, though. However, I think think couscous might just be its own group. I recall having seen recipes for a sweet couscous made of breadcrumbs. I can’t remember where (The Guardian, possibly), so I don’t have a cite. It that were the case, though, it would suggest that it isn’t the ingredients that determine what is couscous. If we can have couscous made from non-pasta ingredients, then it can’t be the case that couscous is a pasta by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/23 "2004-05-10T09:51:08Z")
> [@Lazz](#): > > Since like **Clairobscur** I’m French I’ve decided to bravely ignore the ironic comments of my mom about this couscous question and to snap a few pics of the kind we had laying there: That certainly looks like the couscous I’ve had here in the US… I’ve also noticed the tendency here to group it in with “pasta”, along with every sort of noodle. It may just be one of those ways American language use differs from other forms of English. It may also be that the US customs service calls it “pasta” when crossing the border. It makes some sense to me, being a product of flour, especially if the government doesn’t have a separate cateogry for “couscous”. If it’s not pasta, it would seem to be a close cousin. I’ve also noticed a lot of my fellow Americans mistaking couscous for rice when they’re served it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/24 "2004-05-10T10:40:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you saying that you’ve seen it as a fine _powder_, like flour? > (That would actually _ **be** _ semolina, not couscous). Nope. It looks like the picture posted by \*\* Lazz \*\*. It’s possible that since Couscous is a rather common dish in France (heritage of the french north-african colonies, immigrants, and rapatried colonists from Algeria), it constitutes its own category in France,while it doesn’t in the US. For me, pastas aren’t necessarily italian, but they must be significantly large and shaped in some way. Besides, I don’t know how couscous is produced. I always assumed it was merely ground wheat, but I might be wrong. I assumed that depending on how finely you gound wheat, you got, in order : “crushed” wheat (like what is served in Turkey), couscous, semolina, and finally flour. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/25 "2004-05-10T10:54:00Z")
It definitely _is_ a different thing from cracked or bulgar wheat and similar grains; couscous is made from small balls of dough made from semolina and water; semolina is a coarse wheat flour, but with a grain size very much smaller than couscous. Whether or not we call it pasta depends on how you define pasta; if the definition is "shaped pieces of dough’ (I was going to say ‘dried’, but this isn’t always the case), then it fits, but otherwise perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/26 "2004-05-10T12:04:23Z")
Sorry, but to me couscous is not even coming close to what I know as pasta. It is not shaped as pasta is, it can not be cooked, it must be steamed to become eatable and then miraculously turns into something soft and fluffy. I never heard of anything called “pasta” that can not be cooked, must be steamed and then becomes something fluffy that you must roll into little balls for being able to eat it. By the way: it is not a “typical Moroccan” dish exclusively. Countries - and in these countries the local regions as well - have their own varieties of couscous preparations. Now don’t ask me where what is eaten, I am even not sure that I know what a kitchen looks like. All I know about it is that when prepared the traditional way, it becomes something delicious. Which suffices for me 🙂 I even manage to eat it the traditional way and even learned to do so with my right hand, being lefthanded (resulting in funny pictures from me as a kid struggling with couscous dish at locations I don’t remember where it could be). Salaam. A ---
**Author:** ![Asteroide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@Asteroide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asteroide)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/27 "2004-05-10T12:24:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I would say it’s most definitely a type of pasta. It sure looks and feels like pasta to me. The Italians have something called pasta grattata, and many cultures throughout Europe – Poland and Hungary come to mind – have a type of pasta which is made by passing a stiff dough through a cheese grater, usually using it as an accompaniment to soup or stews. Most of this pasta is not quite as fine as couscous, but it’s the same idea. I mean, heck, orzo isn’t necessarily what people think of when they think of pasta, but it most certainly is. Why not couscous? I always thought couscous was just coarse ground wheat, so maybe I’ll learn something here ? As for _orzo_, I wouldn’t really call _orzo_ pasta - it’s just dried barley(?) for use in soup. Not even wheat based. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/28 "2004-05-10T12:43:57Z")
> [@Asteroide](#): > > I always thought couscous was just coarse ground wheat, so maybe I’ll learn something here ? It _looks_ very similar to cracked/kibbled/bulgar wheat, but it isn’t the same thing; it is made from little balls of dough prepared from flour that is initially ground to quite a fine texture. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/29 "2004-05-10T12:51:06Z")
Maybe your orzo is different than mine, but the packages I have are made from “100% semolina” (according to the label) and resemble pasta in texture and flavor when cooked. They basically look like grains of rice, except made from pasta dough. And couscous is not just coarse ground wheat. It’s a dough made from wheat and flour which is then finely grated/milled/however they do it. It still fits my admittedly loose definition of pasta (which includes any noodle substance – basically, anything that started as dough and ends up cooked by water/steam/whatever.) ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/30 "2004-05-10T15:46:22Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > SemoLINA flour. Not SemiNOLA flour, \*\*which is made from Southeastern American Indians. \*\* :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/31 "2004-05-10T17:22:27Z")
> [@Aldebaran](#): > > It is not shaped as pasta is, it can not be cooked, it must be steamed to become eatable and then miraculously turns into something soft and fluffy. The packaged couscous I buy in (American) grocery stores is indeed cooked. You prepare it in boiling water, just like rice. Note that you _don’t_ cook it like pasta–you use only enough water for the grains to absorb. ---
**Author:** ![Asteroide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@Asteroide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asteroide)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/32 "2004-05-10T18:53:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Maybe your orzo is different than mine, but the packages I have are made from “100% semolina” (according to the label) and resemble pasta in texture and flavor when cooked. They basically look like grains of rice, except made from pasta dough. Well, you piqued my interest here - a little googling confirms what you’re saying, in the US _orzo_ is “rice-shaped pasta”. In Italy, _orzo_ is barley [http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/469\_ms27\_zuppa.asp](http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/469_ms27_zuppa.asp) - so my guess is that what’s referred to as _orzo_ in the US, is pasta made from barley flour. [http://www.molinobongiovanni.com/ricette/ric-orzo.htm](http://www.molinobongiovanni.com/ricette/ric-orzo.htm) Although when I found out that _pepperoni_ in the US is a sausage, I was a little surprised (in Italy it means bell peppers), so anything is possible. Kind of drifted a little far from couscous here ! ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/33 "2004-05-10T20:42:16Z")
undefined > [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > The packaged couscous I buy in (American) grocery stores is indeed cooked. You prepare it in boiling water, just like rice. Note that you _don’t_ cook it like pasta–you use only enough water for the grains to absorb. In my opinion that can not be couscous. I never heard that it remains eatable when you cook it. I was told that the whole art of preparing it lies in the preparation of the dry substance and then in how it is steamed. Maybe you mean that you buy something “pre-prepared” and then have to warm it up “au bain marie” = in a closed item that you hang in boiling water. _(Girls and other admiring audience, don’t think now that I am a French Chef… I only saw such things described on packages containing food I had no clue about. We made it a competition to try to prepare them and sometimes it even turned out to be eatable. Yes… Maybe I missed my real vocation in life.)_ Salaam. A ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/34 "2004-05-10T21:19:28Z")
> [@Asteroide](#): > > Well, you piqued my interest here - a little googling confirms what you’re saying, in the US _orzo_ is “rice-shaped pasta”. > > In Italy, _orzo_ is barley [http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/469\_ms27\_zuppa.asp](http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/469_ms27_zuppa.asp) - so my guess is that what’s referred to as _orzo_ in the US, is pasta made from barley flour. [http://www.molinobongiovanni.com/ricette/ric-orzo.htm](http://www.molinobongiovanni.com/ricette/ric-orzo.htm) > > Although when I found out that _pepperoni_ in the US is a sausage, I was a little surprised (in Italy it means bell peppers), so anything is possible. > > Kind of drifted a little far from couscous here ! Ah…so _orzo_ is barley in Italy. I understand now. I knew the pepperoni tidbit, but not about orzo. Good to know. But, as I said, the orzo I’ve seen in the US is made from semolina, not barley flour. It literally looks like rice, except it’s made from standard pasta dough (semolina + water). ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/35 "2004-05-10T21:49:09Z")
Orzo is called orzo because it is shaped like barley grains. Just like penne is shaped like quills. Couscous in the US is indeed pre-steamed. It is then soaked briefly in boiing water. I learned both these facts by following links contained in thios thread. **Read** , people! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/36 "2004-05-10T23:09:29Z")
Couscous doesn’t have to be steamed; I cook it by boiling 2 cups of water, adding 1 cup of dry couscous, covering and removing from the heat - it absorbs the water and continues to steam itself. ending up as fluffy, separate grains. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/37 "2004-05-10T23:42:12Z")
> [@Aldebaran](#): > > In my opinion that can not be couscous. I never heard that it remains eatable when you cook it.\* > > Salaam. A I think it depends what you mean by “cook” - in the past I used to steam couscous, not too difficult really but then I read the instructions on a supermarket packet which basically say “add n ml of boiling water to x grams of couscous, stir, cover for 5 mins” - even easier! (and I’m damned if I can tell the difference) The packet of couscous in my cupboard at the moment (UK Sainsbury own brand) just says “grains of semolina with a fine wheatflour coating” - no mention of being easy-cook type AFAIK, in the UK pasta is pasta and couscous ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/38 "2004-05-11T00:04:29Z")
Read about the history of Couscous: [http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/papers/cuscus.htm](http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/papers/cuscus.htm) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/39 "2004-05-11T10:40:06Z")
> [@Capt B. Phart](#): > > I think it depends what you mean by “cook” - in the past I used to steam couscous, not too difficult really but then I read the instructions on a supermarket packet which basically say “add n ml of boiling water to x grams of couscous, stir, cover for 5 mins” - even easier! (and I’m damned if I can tell the difference) > > The packet of couscous in my cupboard at the moment (UK Sainsbury own brand) just says “grains of semolina with a fine wheatflour coating” - no mention of being easy-cook type Hmmmm, I beg to differ with you on that. I make the easy-cook stuff the way you described and it’s fine. Never tried it with regular. BUT, my mother makes non easy-cook couscous in the proper steam pan thingy and it is most definetely a lot nicer. I agree with **Aldebaran** by the way, that you should not cook (i.e. boil) any type of couscous. Yuck. Pouring hot water on and soaking is acceptable. Steaming is the best way to go if you have the patience. My opinion, of course, but I’m not going to be talked out of this one. ever. I love couscous. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063/40 "2004-05-11T11:14:11Z")
OK, how about this, as an attempt at an answer to the OP that perhaps most of us can get behind: Couscous is _similar to_ pasta, in that it is manufactured from shaped wheat dough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-couscous-pasta/244063.md?page=3)