Couscous Types: Exploring The Different Varieties of Couscous

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If you're like me then most weeks you will have rice and pasta on the menu. But there is another alternative that is often underused in Australian cooking. Cous cous has been used in recipes for hundreds of years. Below we explore the different types of couscous available in Australia and list the best ways to use each of them.

What is Couscous?

It sounds like a simple question but defining couscous is quite controversial. We have actually written a whole article to discuss what is couscous. From a culinary standpoint couscous is often considered a pasta as it is made from durum wheat semolina that is then rolled into varied shapes and sizes.

Moroccan Couscous

Moroccan couscous is the smallest variety of cous cous and is what most people would know as traditional cous cous. The typical cooking time for Moroccan couscous is 5 minutes. This type of couscous is perfect for salads or as a base for stews or tagines. It is a reasonable substitute for grains like bulgur. Moroccan cous cous can come in multiple sizes and at TFB Trading we use a medium grain size for our traditional cous cous product.

Israeli Couscous (Pearl Couscous)

Israeli couscous is the product most commonly referred to as pearl couscous. Each granule is about the size of a peppercorn and has rounded edges with a slight disc shape. Compared to Moroccan cous cous it has a chewier texture. The typical cooking time for Israeli couscous is 10 minutes. Pearl couscous is excellent in pilafs and it was originally developed to be a substitute for rice so can be used almost interchangeably. TFB Trading supplies Israeli pearl couscous from the US, and our cous cous is one of the few authentic products that has traditional toasted granules.

Lebanese Couscous

Lebanese couscous is the largest type of cous cous that can be the size of a small chickpea. It is commonly known as mograbieh but can sometimes (confusingly) be called Lebanese pearl cous cous. It's shape is more spherical than Israeli cous cous and actually more alike to a pearl. The typical cooking time for Lebanese couscous is 20 minutes. This type is perfect for soups and stews and is a suitable substitute for pasta in some recipes.

Other Types of Couscous

Whole Wheat Couscous

Most types of cous cous are available in whole wheat variants which use minimally processed semolina flour to create a different finished product.

Coloured Pearl Couscous

Israeli pearl couscous is considered a childrens food in Israel so it makes sense to have multicoloured variants to make it more interesting. Semolina is combined with tomato and spinach colourings during production to create the tricolour variations.

Organic Couscous

Much like whole wheat couscous the key difference in making organic couscous is to use organic semolina during the rolling process.

Gluten-Free Couscous

Traditional cous cous products made using durum wheat contain gluten. Recently new products are appearing that use corn (maize) or rice flour to create gluten-free variations of cous cous.

Choosing The Best Type of Couscous

• For quick meals and salads choose Moroccan couscous

• For a rice substitute or faster pasta consider Israeli couscous

• For traditional Middle Eastern recipes or replacing pasta in soups and stews try Lebanese couscous

Next time you go to make that rice or pasta dish consider trying cous cous instead.