[Bekbeka]

Hi
I'm needing a bit of help 'translating' an ingredient. I'm wanting to make a cake, and the recipe calls for semolina. My question is what is 'semolina' in French - and any ideas where I might track some down?
I think that 'couscous' (the grain) is sometimes called 'semoule' - but I'm sure that this isn't what we call 'semolina' in the Western world.

Help/advice gratefully appreciated - and soon - I'm wanting to make this cake for a dinner tomorrow night. Thank you (in anticipation).

[villacollinette]

Well, I checked the one in my cupboard and it's called "Semoule de blé dur" -- and the brand I have is Panzani, so I know I probably found it with the pasta in the supermarket. Wish I could just email you this one, somehow, since I bought it for my daughters and they don't seem to care for it. But I hope this helps anyway!

[Alisa]

Hi! I confere with villacollinette! It IS called Semoule de blé dur here, and you can find it in three diffrent grain sizes. Petite, Moyen, Gros. If you are from the USA, then you know it as Cream of Wheat cereal, or sometimes you can just buy semolina in the US. Markets in Paris stock it in either the rice, pasta or flour sections of the store. If you like Cream of Wheat cereal, and want to make that, use the petite semoule. Many North African countries make a dessert custard with it.

[Bekbeka]

Thanks for your advice. I might need to rethink the cake seeing as I can't eat wheat - I was hoping that it was made from a different grain. Back to the drawing board...

[Phoody]

While it is true in the USA semolina is in Cream of Wheat cereal, it is a cereal grade grain cutting and, I seem to recall that Cream of Wheat is a non-durum cereal. It might not be a good idea to use cream of wheat in your recipe depending on the recipe; because it is kind of like using instant rice. There are many places on the internet where you can obtain a good grade of semolina flour.

In other words there is a semolina for porrige and a different type semolina grinding for other things.

Semolina is usually a flour made of the endosperm of the heart of durum winter wheat. Semolina's best recipes are for pastas such as Cous Cous, etc. Durum is used for pasta because it has a rich yellowy color and the texture is smooth. Therefore, when you are making pasta you do not have to use as many eggs to get that golden color.

Cheers, Phoody