Couscous

Not to be confused with Israeli couscous.
For the possum species, see Cuscus. For the ancient Chilean village, see Cuz Cuz. For the French film, see The Secret of the Grain.

Couscous
Couscous served with vegetables and chickpeas
Alternative namesKesksou, Seksu, Ta'ām, Barboucha, Aberbouch, Kosksi
CourseMain course, side dish or dessert
Place of originNumidia[1][2][3]
Main ingredientsSemolina
VariationsMoghrabieh, maftoul
Food energy
(per 1/4 cup, dry serving)
150 kcal (628 kJ)[4]
Nutritional value
(per 1/4 cup, dry serving)
Protein5 g
Fat0 g
Carbohydrate30 g

Couscous (Arabic: كُسْكُس, romanized: kuskus) is a traditional North African dish[5][6] of small[a] steamed granules of rolled semolina[7] that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, bulgur, and other cereals are sometimes cooked in a similar way in other regions, and the resulting dishes are also sometimes called couscous.[8][9]: 18 [10]

Couscous is a staple food throughout the Maghrebi cuisines of Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Libya.[11][12]: 250  It was integrated into French and European cuisine at the beginning of the twentieth century,[13] through the French colonial empire and the Pieds-Noirs of Algeria.[14][15][16]

In 2020, couscous was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.[17]

  1. ^ Chemache, Loucif, Farida Kehal, Hacène Namoune, Makhlouf Chaalal, and Mohammed Gagaoua. "Couscous: Ethnic making and consumption patterns in the Northeast of Algeria." Journal of Ethnic Foods 5, no. 3 (2018): 211-219. “Couscous or seksu (Image 1) in Berber language or kuskus in Arabic is by origin a Numidian (the Berber population of Numidia) dish…”
  2. ^ Hammami, Rifka, Reine Barbar, Marie Laurent, and Bernard Cuq. "Durum Wheat Couscous Grains: An Ethnic Mediterranean Food at the Interface of Traditional Domestic Preparation and Industrial Manufacturing." Foods 11, no. 7 (2022): 902. pp.1-2. “Part of the origin of couscous is related to Numidians, the Berber population of Numidia. The culinary historian Lucie Bolens describes primitive pots that closely resemble the main cooking utensil of couscous, which is the couscoussier, found in Kabylia in tombs coming from the period of Berber king Massinissa”
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bolens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Health Benefits of Couscous". WebMD.
  5. ^ "Couscous". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Chemache, Loucif; Kehal, Farida; Namoune, Hacène; Chaalal, Makhlouf; Gagaoua, Mohammed (September 2018). "Couscous: Ethnic making and consumption patterns in the Northeast of Algeria". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 5 (3): 211–219. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2018.08.002. ISSN 2352-6181. S2CID 133982691.
  7. ^ Shulman, Martha Rose (February 23, 2009). "Couscous: Just Don't Call It Pasta". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  8. ^ Taylor, J.R.N.; Barrion, S.C.; Rooney, L.W. (2010). "Pearl Millet—New Developments in an Ancient Food Grain" (PDF). Cereal Foods World. 55 (1). Cereal and Grains Association: 16–19. doi:10.1094/CFW-55-1-0016. Retrieved May 19, 2022.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ Taylor, J.R.N.; Barrion, S.C.; Rooney, L.W. (2010). "Pearl Millet—New Developments in an Ancient Food Grain" (PDF). Cereal Foods World. 55 (1): 16–19. doi:10.1094/CFW-55-1-0016. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 22, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "The Codex Alimentarius (Codex Standard) (1995)" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Naylor, Phillip C. (May 2015). Historical Dictionary of Algeria. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-8108-7919-5.
  12. ^ Soletti, Francesco; Selmi, Luca (2006). Turismo gastronomico in Italia, Volume 1. Touring Club Italiano. ISBN 978-88-365-3500-2.
  13. ^ Sainéan, L. (1921). "L'HISTOIRE NATURELLE DANS L'OEUVRE DE RABELAIS (8 e et dernier article)". Revue du Seizième siècle. 8 (1/2): 1–41. ISSN 0151-1823. JSTOR 41851648.
  14. ^ Wagda, Marin (1997). "L'histoire d'une migration culinaire". Hommes & Migrations. 1207 (1): 163–166. doi:10.3406/homig.1997.2982.
  15. ^ Tabois, Stéphanie (2005). "Cuisiner le passé. Souvenirs et pratiques culinaires des exilés pieds-noirs". Diasporas. Histoire et sociétés. 7 (1): 81–91.
  16. ^ Albert-Llorca, Marlène (2004). "La mémoire des Pieds-noirs : une transmission impossible ?". Horizons Maghrébins - le droit à la mémoire. 51 (1): 169–176. doi:10.3406/horma.2004.2250.
  17. ^ "UNESCO adds couscous to list of intangible world heritage". Al Jazeera English. December 16, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2022.


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