has anyone considered including couscous in there longterm food reserves ?

Serving Size 1 cup uncooked (173 g)
Servings Per Container Information is per dry couscous as determined by Nutrient Data Laboratory, ARS, USDA.[1]

Amount Per Serving
Calories 650 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1 g 2%
Saturated Fat 0 g 0%
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 17 mg 1%
Potassium 287 mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 134 g 45%
Dietary Fiber 9 g 4%
Sugars 0 g
Protein 22 g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 42% Iron 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Yes! Not only that but couscous seems to take less fuel to heat and eat than rice or other starches. I tend to take couscous on hikes, and keep a bunch in my emergency supplies. Some delicious recipes too, check out Freezer Bag Cooking.

Yes, we keep a bunch of it as I LOVE to eat it.
It's also great for camping as it weighs next to nothing but provides a bunch of carbs and 1 box can be 3 or so meals for 1 person.

This is one item I could see owning 50lbs of that I eat regularly.

any ideas how long it would store if vacuum packed and stored in a cool dark place ? tried google and came up empty should i just treat like pasta ?

I would say yes treat it like pasta.. that's what it technically is.

Excellent stuff, cous-cous. It has a less refined, whole grain wheat cousin called Bulghur, another circum-mediterranean staple. Wheat is parboiled, dried, and ground into a meal that is coarser than cous-cous, but finer than rice or barley. Lots of whole grain goodness, degraded somewhat by the boiling. Hydrates by soaking in hot water for 20 minutes or so. Needs no cooking, will rehydrate slower but well in cold water.Often used as a ground meat substitute in vegetarian chili, main player in Tabouli, a bulghur-parsley salad dressed with mint, olive oil, lemon juice. Often mixed with ground meat and used to stuff peppers, grape leaves.

Good to eat just real dry

Cous-cous! Why didn't I think of that before? I eat it all the time and really like it. Dry? Just add a little more water than the directions say to - gives a softer, moister, result. If you are buying in bulk instead of a box-mix with flavor packet, you can always flavor it up with bullion granuals, mushrooms, diced tomato, etc.

Bulghur is another terrific idea. I'm off to my local health food co-op. (we have couscous in the regular grocery, but I have a 'dollars-off' coupon)

Then there is my favorite, buckwheat (groats), often called "kasha" I use it instead of rice and pasta. Add water in 2 to 1 ratio (more if you like softer) and gentle heat for 18 to 20 min. Good peasant food. We buy it by the kilo in the local "russian" deli.

You can also do that with other grains as well. I like doing it with barley thrown in the liquid with a braised beef roast.

I have lead a sheltered life, I have never ever tasted this stuff, barely know how to pronounce it. Guess I will have to give it a try...

This is new to me too.

Jeanette Isabelle

Same here, where would you look for it. A specialty shop or your local grocer?

Hi JeanetteIsabelle,

You can find some unusual and more conventional couscous recipes here at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recip...p;submit=Search

I have not had a problem finding it in a grocery store for a long time, although I have been living in the Northeast near NYC. Look in the sections for rice and pasta. You're most likely ot find it near the Rice-A-Roni. It's really only very small little bits of pasta.

Out on the west coast I can get it at Winco, Raleys, Bel Air, SaveMart, basically every major supermarket has it now. 1 year ago probably not.

the plus side with couscous is that you only need to add boiling water to it and set it aside for 5 minutes and it is ready to eat. unlike pasta and rice which require at least simmering a much larger volume of water for longer using more fuel.

i have noticed afew i never thought of that's in the past few days, something that is true for all of us i think. what about posting lists of what we have in our reserves, not just putting "pasta" but what types i.e. there are 2 different types of couscous one could be classed as pasta one could be classed as wheat. after all we come here to learn and share.

oh and can someone tell me what cornmeal is best for making cornbread coarse of fine. would like to know before ordering some.

http://www.wheat-for-man.com/bulgur-storage.html

Cannot help you with a brand of cornmeal, but I am pretty sure fine is better for cornbread than coarse. See: http://www.fbnr.com/ecguide/ecghtml/67350.htm

You could also use cornmeal and pretty much treat it as if you were cooking rice. Not precisely how to cook polenta, but it would be close.

You're not sposed to eat your bulghurs. Didn't your moma teach you that?

I like couscous (and rice) for camping because it doesn't have to be drained, like pasta. Doesn't waste water (poured out onto the ground or where ever), don't have to try to pour boiling water through a sieve, plus it tastes good. I wouldn't count on it for more than bulk and carbs, though. If you want protein, try quinoa, which is a South American seed that is a complete protein. (Pronounced keen wah, by the way.)

Quinoa soaks up all the water it's cooked in, too. It's gluten-free, has more nutrients than couscous; see
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5705/2
for the "Nutrition Facts."

Ya flick 'em...

Oh man, another new one. Growing up on burgers and PBJ sandwiches leaves one out of the food loop, so to speak. Where do you find this wonderfood?

Corn meal, coarse or fine, or even corn flour, all produce good corn bread. While its baking, the corn meal turns into corn meal mush, and the texture of the bread doesn't seem to change much. Kind of like baking cookies or bread with oatmeal-the individual flakes disappear. Whole grain corn meal and flour are available in organic food stores and select super markets. better for you, doesn't keep as well, like whole wheat products.

regarding bulgur, I have had good luck with a dry mix consisting of dried onion flakes, dried parsley, dried garlic, rehydrated with beef or chicken boullion cubes. Keeps well, tastes okay, good texture.

Trader Joe's (my local anyway) currently has the Israeli (bigger granules) couscous, 1 lb for $1.99, will easily feed 4-6 adults. Like any grain anytime you buy couscous in bulk you'll save.

I also love kasha (bulgar wheat), but haven't had it since my local grocer stopped carrying my favorite brand of boxed kasha cereal, somehow the bulk bought kasha doesn't measure up. I'll have to check out the Russian delis. A cup of kasha stirred with an egg over really high heat, it wants to hang together from the egg but chop it up so it stays apart, splash a coup of beef bullion into this really, really hot egg-kasha mixture, cover to steam, wait 10 minutes, add pepper to taste, ambrosia!

Hi OldBaldGuy,

There are some tasty Quinoa recipes here at the BBC recipes website

You should be able to get Quinoa from your local supermarket without any problems.

Thanks. I prowled a SaveMart, a pretty large chain grocery store, today looking for couscous, with zero luck...

Don't give up, OBG! It's out there, it really is. I've seen it in both Krogers and Wal-mart superstores, and I live in KY, not exactly a hotbed of cultural diversity.

As for cornmeal - definitely get the fine ground. The coarse is chicken feed! Someone mentioned cornmeal mush - cook some cornmeal on the top of the stove, like you would oatmeal or other hot cereal. Pour it into an oiled loaf pan. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight. In the morning, slice about 1/4 inch thick and fry in a little butter - serve with syrup over it. Very cheap, good eats.