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See why.Israeli Couscous
We tasted five supermarket products, plain and in our Cook's Illustrated recipe for Israeli Couscous with Lemon, Mint, Peas, Feta, and Pickled Shallots.
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What You Need To Know
Israeli couscous, a round semolina pasta about the size of tapioca, provides wheaty flavor and pleasantly chewy starch to soups, salads, and pilafs. Distinct from the tiny, grain-like North African couscous, Israeli couscous, which originated in 1950s Israel as a substitute for rice, is larger and springier, with round, pale grains that earned it the alternative moniker of “pearl” couscous. We tasted five supermarket products, plain and in our recipe for our Cook's Illustrated Israeli Couscous with Lemon, Mint, Peas, Feta, and Pickled Shallots (see related content).
Cooked according to package directions, most passed muster with our tasters, but one product was a mushy mess. Its directions demanded almost twice the usual quantity of water and had us boiling it far longer than the others. To level the playing field, we tasted all the products again, this time using our preferred pilaf cooking method (toasting the grains in olive oil and then adding water and simmering until the couscous absorbs the liquid). This time all the products got passing grades, but one stood out as a bit better than the rest: Tasters found it especially firm and springy, chewy, and nutty.
What made the difference? We found our answers by examining the nutrition labels. Our recommended products contain about 15 percent protein relative to total carbohydrates, while the lowest-ranking product has about 13 percent. It turns out that this minor-sounding difference is significant in determining whether the couscous cooks up firm and chewy or turns into a mushy mess. Protein holds the carbohydrates together like an adhesive, so characteristics such as chewiness, texture, and resistance to breakdown when liquids are added (and during cooking) are all strongly influenced by the protein-carbohydrate ratio. Products with more protein also develop more flavor (when protein is heated, hundreds of new flavor compounds are created via a process called the Maillard reaction). We also noticed that the winner contains a trace of sugar, more than its rivals, which may have contributed to better flavor. (Our winner adds rosemary extract as a preservative, but so did our two lowest-ranked brands; the rosemary adds little to no flavor.)
In terms of shape, our tasters preferred larger pearls, even if they were only incrementally bigger than others. Packaging may have also influenced our preferences. The airtightness of the packaging tracks with our rating of the contents: Our top two products are sold in jars, and the third- and fourth-place products are sold in plastic bags (with the fourth-place bag inside a cardboard box), while our lowest-ranked couscous is sold with...
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Recommended
Our favorite couscous had a “rich and nutty flavor” that was “clean” and “very appealing.” It was “chewy but tender,” with “big round pieces,” and was “a little starchier than others” but “firm and bouncy.” In salad, it had “the great nutty flavor I expect from Israeli couscous,” summed up one taster.
With “excellent chew and spring,” and “intensely wheaty flavor,” these “toothsome and buoyant grains” were “clearly thicker and taller” than others and “a little sticky, almost creamy.”
Tasters enjoyed this couscous’s “strong toasty notes” and “sweet cereal” taste. Several mentioned that it was “strikingly more buttery than the others” (no butter was in the ingredients or in our salad recipe), with “clean, wheaty flavor,” which may have been enhanced by the use of toasted semolina. Tasters appreciated its “springy texture” that was “not too soft,” with “nicely spherical,” “individual pearls.”
Tasters found this couscous’s texture “really distinct”: “You can taste individual pearls.” A little more “tender” than others, it had a “gentle bounce” and “seemed not as substantial as some of the others; lighter.” One taster noted that the texture was “inconsistent: some grains small, some big like nubbly pebbles.” A few tasters detected off-notes and a “musty” flavor.
Recommended with reservations
We recommend this brand with the reservation that you should ignore the package directions, which call for too much water and time, leading to a mushy, pasty mess. Cooked in our pilaf style or salad, its scores crept up, but its pearls still “seemed smaller, pebblier” than others; “delicate,” with “distinct granules.” Some tasters noted that the taste was on the “mild,” “bland” side.
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The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
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