Editing Couscous (section)

{{Short description|Traditional Maghrebi dish}}
{{distinguish|Israeli couscous}}
{{About||the possum species|Cuscus|the ancient Chilean village|Cuz Cuz|the French film|The Secret of the Grain}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox food
| name               = Couscous
| image              = Moroccan cuscus, from Casablanca, September 2018.jpg
| image_size         = 235px
| caption            = Couscous served with vegetables and chickpeas
| alternate_name     = Kesksou, Seksu, Ta'ām, Kosksi
| place_of_origin    = [[Maghreb]]
| creator            = 
| course             = Main course, side dish or dessert
| served             = 
| main_ingredient    = [[Semolina]]
| variations         = Moghrabieh, maftoul
| serving_size       = {{cups|1/4|US}}, dry
| calories           = 150
| calories_ref       = <ref>{{cite web |title=Health Benefits of Couscous |website=WebMD |url=https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/benefits-couscous}}</ref>
| protein            = 5
| fat                = 0
| carbohydrate       = 30
}}
'''Couscous''' ({{Langx|ar|كُسْكُس|kuskus}}) is a traditional North African dish<ref>{{cite web|title=Couscous|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/couscous|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref><ref name="chemache">{{cite journal|title=Couscous: Ethnic making and consumption patterns in the Northeast of Algeria|last1=Chemache|first1=Loucif|last2=Kehal|first2=Farida|last3=Namoune|first3=Hacène|last4=Chaalal|first4=Makhlouf|last5=Gagaoua|first5=Mohammed|date=September 2018|journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods|language=en|volume=5|issue=3|pages=211–219|doi=10.1016/j.jef.2018.08.002|s2cid=133982691|issn=2352-6181|doi-access=free}} a quote: “Couscous or seksu (Image 1) in Berber language or kuskus in Arabic is by origin a Numidian (the Berber population of Numidia) dish…”</ref> of small{{efn|Usually about {{cvt|2|mm|in|frac=16}} in diameter, though a finer (1&nbsp;mm) and larger varieties (3&nbsp;mm or more) also exist in North Africa.}} [[steaming|steamed]] granules of rolled [[semolina]]<ref name="notpasta">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/23recipehealth.html |title=Couscous: Just Don't Call It Pasta |last=Shulman |first=Martha Rose |website=The New York Times |date=23 February 2009|access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref> that is often served with a [[stew]] spooned on top. [[Pearl millet]], [[sorghum]], [[bulgur]], and other cereals are sometimes cooked in a similar way in other regions, and the resulting dishes are also sometimes called couscous.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cerealsgrains.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2010/Documents/CFW-55-1-0016.pdf|title=Pearl Millet—New Developments in an Ancient Food Grain |url-status=|last1=Taylor |first1=J.R.N. |last2=Barrion |first2=S.C. |last3=Rooney |first3=L.W. |journal=Cereal Foods World |publisher=Cereal and Grains Association|year=2010 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=16–19 |doi=10.1094/CFW-55-1-0016 |access-date=May 19, 2022}}{{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref><ref name="milletCC">{{cite journal |url=https://www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2010/Documents/CFW-55-1-0016.pdf |title=Pearl Millet—New Developments in an Ancient Food Grain |url-status=dead|last1=Taylor |first1=J.R.N. |last2=Barrion |first2=S.C. |last3=Rooney |first3=L.W. |journal=Cereal Foods World |year=2010 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=16–19 |doi=10.1094/CFW-55-1-0016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822040357/https://www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2010/Documents/CFW-55-1-0016.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2019|access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref>{{rp|18}}<ref name="codex">{{cite web |title=The Codex Alimentarius (Codex Standard) (1995)  |url=https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/es/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXS%2B202-1995%252FCXS_202e.pdf |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref>

Couscous is a [[staple food]] throughout the [[Maghrebi cuisine]]s of [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Morocco]], and [[Libya]].<ref name="Naylor2015">{{cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip C. |title=Historical Dictionary of Algeria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftFbCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |date=May 2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-7919-5 |page=195}}</ref><ref name="soletti">{{cite book |last1=Soletti |first1=Francesco |last2=Selmi |first2=Luca |title=Turismo gastronomico in Italia, Volume 1 |publisher=Touring Club Italiano |date=2006 |isbn=978-88-365-3500-2}}</ref>{{rp|250}} It was integrated into French and European cuisine at the beginning of the twentieth century,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sainéan |first=L. |date=1921 |title=L'Histoire Naturelle dans L'Oeuvre de Rabelais (8 e et dernier article) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41851648 |journal=Revue du Seizième siècle |volume=8 |issue=1/2 |pages=1–41 |jstor=41851648 |issn=0151-1823}}</ref> through the [[French colonial empire]] and the [[Pied-Noir|Pieds-Noirs]] of [[Algeria]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagda |first=Marin |date=1997 |title=L'histoire d'une migration culinaire |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/homig_1142-852x_1997_num_1207_1_2982 |journal=Hommes & Migrations |volume=1207 |issue=1 |pages=163–166 |doi=10.3406/homig.1997.2982}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tabois |first=Stéphanie |date=2005 |title=Cuisiner le passé. Souvenirs et pratiques culinaires des exilés pieds-noirs |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/diasp_1637-5823_2005_num_7_1_1016 |journal=Diasporas. Histoire et sociétés |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=81–91}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Albert-Llorca |first=Marlène |date=2004 |title=La mémoire des Pieds-noirs : une transmission impossible ? |url= |journal=Horizons Maghrébins - le droit à la mémoire |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=169–176 |doi=10.3406/horma.2004.2250}}</ref>

In 2020, couscous was added to [[UNESCO]]'s [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Intangible Cultural Heritage list]].<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO adds couscous to list of intangible world heritage |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/16/unesco-adds-couscous-to-list-of-intangible-world-heritage |website=Al Jazeera English |date=December 16, 2020 |language=en|access-date=May 19, 2022 }}</ref>