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Did you think cous cous was a grain?

137 replies

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:01

Colleague eating one of those mug shot packets at work (in boiling water not straight from the packet!)

I am mad for cous cous and suggested it as a similarly easy option, especially if you bring a salad with some chicken/tuna/feta to add to it. She didn't realise that cous cous just needed boiling water added and thought you had to cook it on a hob. She also thought it was a grain rather than a pasta.

I asked around and about half the people I've asked also thought it was a grain.

Maybe it doesn't feature as much in other people's diets so they didn't realise, but I'm honestly mad for it and think it's superior to other pasta. I eat it about 2 or 3 times a week in different ways as I love how simple it is. But I'd also happily eat it plain with a knob of butter and a little garlic 🤤

OP posts:
CormorantStrikesBack · 22/03/2024 20:17

I knew it had gluten in it.

benjoin · 22/03/2024 20:17

Is it??? THAT'S why it makes me ill!!!!!

ButtockUp · 22/03/2024 20:18

Diabetics know that cous cous is a high carb . Sadly many people do think it's a grain like bulgur wheat.

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Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:18

OutOfTheHouse · 22/03/2024 20:17

Where is it in supermarkets? Is it with the rice?

It varies in different shops, just to add to the confusion!

OP posts:
YourWinter · 22/03/2024 20:18

I thought couscous was a grain too! I’ve never had quinoa or bulgur wheat and I don’t understand the appeal of pasta. I do cook it occasionally but I’d never think “Ooh lovely, pasta…”.

Rice is nice.

BoohooWoohoo · 22/03/2024 20:18

I’m an orzo fan and thought that was the smallest pasta that I’d eaten.

We love couscous here too

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:18

benjoin · 22/03/2024 20:17

Is it??? THAT'S why it makes me ill!!!!!

Confused
OP posts:
benjoin · 22/03/2024 20:20

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:18

Confused

Seriously! I thought it was like a grain all of its own

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:20

@YourWinter

I’d never think “Ooh lovely, pasta…”.

Dear god. Are there others like you out there? This is inconceivable.

OP posts:
Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:21

@benjoin

Your poor stomach Blush

OP posts:
PodcastIdeas · 22/03/2024 20:25

I had to point this out to a nursery who served pasta with cous cous as a veggie option!! They clearly were under the impression that it was high in protein.

Ponderingwindow · 22/03/2024 20:27

For the longest time I thought cous cous was a grain.

its the only thing that makes any sense because the texture is so unpleasant that making pasta in that shape is insane.

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:27

PodcastIdeas · 22/03/2024 20:25

I had to point this out to a nursery who served pasta with cous cous as a veggie option!! They clearly were under the impression that it was high in protein.

Haha! That's incredible. I want to try this at least once in my life 😂

OP posts:
Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:28

Ponderingwindow · 22/03/2024 20:27

For the longest time I thought cous cous was a grain.

its the only thing that makes any sense because the texture is so unpleasant that making pasta in that shape is insane.

The texture is heaven sent!

OP posts:
EdithGrantham · 22/03/2024 20:31

It's usually stocked with the grains at supermarkets so yep I thought it was a grain and have now learnt something new! I do eat it as a carb though, as I would quinoa etc though to be fair

PodcastIdeas · 22/03/2024 20:31

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:27

Haha! That's incredible. I want to try this at least once in my life 😂

They were gobsmacked when I pointed out it was essentially pasta with pasta sauce 🤣

soupfiend · 22/03/2024 20:32

EdithGrantham · 22/03/2024 20:31

It's usually stocked with the grains at supermarkets so yep I thought it was a grain and have now learnt something new! I do eat it as a carb though, as I would quinoa etc though to be fair

It is a carb?

EdithGrantham · 22/03/2024 20:35

soupfiend · 22/03/2024 20:32

It is a carb?

Yes, I'm just saying I've always treated it as such compared to some people (like the nursery mentioned above) who treat it as high protein

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 22/03/2024 20:36

devildeepbluesea · 22/03/2024 20:15

I see your quinoa and raise you farro. The grain of emperors (quite literally), and absolutely lush.

Hmmm... never tried farro. I can't eat quinoa - it gives me terrible stomach pains.

Yes, OP - I knew cous cous wasn't a grain. It's nice, but I'm not as enthusiastic about it as you are!

ScubaDivingSpiderMonkey · 22/03/2024 20:36

Until recently I assumed it was a grain. I was shooketh when I learnt the truth.

unlikelychump · 22/03/2024 20:38

In recent months I've moved on from thinking it is a grain, to wondering if it might be something else. A few musings of what it might even really be.

My learning curve has precipitated upwards at quite some speed.

Namechangedforthis25 · 22/03/2024 20:38

Mind blown - thought it was a healthy protein like lentils or chickpeas this whole time

but how do they get the pasta so small? This is very confusing for me

Yourethebeerthief · 22/03/2024 20:40

My "girl dinner", as per the current Instagram trend, is a bowl of too much cous cous, seasoned, with a knob of too much butter stirred through.

If I'm feeling fancy I'll throw some tuna and bagged salad on top and squeeze a lemon over it.

OP posts:
HRTQueen · 22/03/2024 20:41

I love cous cous cooked properly with a spicy stew

I knows it’s made from semolina

it tastes more like a grain, I don’t like big couscous though ai think also called pearl couscous