Durum wheat products, couscous

Abstract

Durum wheat is one of the most important cereals grown in semiarid zones such as North Africa, South Europe and Middle East. Pasta and couscous are the most common paste products made from durum wheat. Couscous is one of the most ancient staple foods prepared by Berbers, the native inhabitants of North Africa. Couscous has a symbolic meaning and represents a part of their identity. Couscous quality is determined by two main factors, raw material composition and dough proprieties. Visual appearance, test weight, weight of 1000 kernels, vitreuousness, yellow pigment and grain proteins percentage strongly impacts couscous quality. After milling, particle size, high protein semolina, glutenins and gliadins, dough strength have been shown to influence couscous characteristics. This chapter summarizes the origin of couscous, and traditional processing methods. The key grain and semolina quality characteristics required for good couscous quality will be discussed. Methods used to assess the eating quality of couscous will also be covered.