Ingredient: Semolina
Category: Flours - Durum wheat
Season: All
Semolina is the inner, granular, starchy endosperm of hard or durum wheat (not yet ground into flour); used to make pasta and semolina milk pudding.
It is the gritty, coarse particles of wheat left after the finer flour has been extracted.
The particles are mostly between 0.25 and 0.75 millimetres in diameter.
The same milling grade is sometimes called farina, or grits if made from maize.
Semolina made from durum wheat or other hard wheats (that are easier to grow than durum) is quite yellow in colour.
It is usually eaten with the main dish, either boiled with water into a pasty substance, e.g. as gnocchi (in Italy) or fufu (in sub-Saharan Africa); it also served as the basis for dried products such as pasta (Italy), couscous (North Africa), bulgur (Syria and Turkey).
Semolina from softer types of wheats (usually steel-cut) is almost white in color.
In the United States it has come to be known by the trade name Cream of Wheat.
When boiled, it turns into a softer pudding.
This semolina is popular in North Western Europe and North America as a dessert, boiled with milk, and sweetened.
It is often flavoured with vanilla and served with jam.
In Italy (Tuscany) spaghetti made with semolina are called pici.
In Northern India, it is known as Suji
In southern India, rava.
In much of North Africa and the Middle-East, it is made into the staple couscous or kuskus.
In South India, semolina is used to make such delicacies as rava dosa and upma.
in Greece, a popular dessert "Halvas", Cyprus ("Halouvas"), Turkey ("Helva"), Iran ("Halva"), and by Arab countries ("Halwa") is sometimes made with semolina, scorched with sugar, butter, milk and pine nuts.
In some cultures, it is served at funerals, during special celebrations or as a religious offering.
It can be used as an alternative to corn meal to flour the underside of fresh pizza dough, to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
In bread making , a small proportion of semolina added to the usual mix of flour produces a tasty crust. |