Is Couscous the same as acini di pepe?

Answer 1

No; they're similar, in that both are made from durum (hard wheat) semolina, and both about the same size and shape. But the way to cook them is different.

Acini di pepe (Italian for peppercorns, literally meaning "berries of [the] pepper") is a very small type of pasta, one of a number of shapes known as "soup cuts" because they're traditionally served in thin soups, rather than under a sauce. Like other pastas, it's cooked by boiling in water; how long varies depending on the size and shape, and how soft or firm you prefer your pasta to be, so it's usually best to go by the manufacturer's instructions on the package. (If you like your pasta "al dente" [literally meaning "to the tooth"] it's often best to test a piece two minutes before the earliest cooking time listed on the package!) Being a small pasta shape, acini di pepe is usually done in just a few minutes, rarely taking more than five minutes to be ready to eat.

Couscous comes in several different varieties -- it might be more accurate to say there are several different foods called couscous.

The kind most English speakers are most likely to encounter is "parboiled" (partially pre-cooked, like parboiled rice) by the manufacturer, and thus does not need to be boiled at all. To prepare it, just measure the right amount of water (or stock or other cooking liquid) for the amount of couscous you're making, bring it to a boil, then stir in the couscous, remove the pot from the heat, and let it stand for about 5 minutes... and that's it, it's ready to eat! It has no real flavor on its own, like most pure starches (think plain white rice or potatoes) so you'll want to add a sauce, or a dressing if you're going to eat it cold; or you can add whatever seasonings or other ingredients you want, before cooking, to the couscous and/or cooking liquid, which often gives best results flavor-wise.

Another product often seen on the shelves of Western supermarkets is so-called "Israeli couscous" or "pearl couscous" which is closer to being a true pasta than other foods called couscous, and comes in varying sizes but is almost always larger than true couscous. It does need to be boiled to cook properly. It's typically prepared by first toasting the tiny pasta granules in melted butter, then adding boiling water (or adding water then bringing to a boil). Practically speaking, you could probably omit the pre-toasting, but it lends a lovely nutty flavor to the finished pasta. Plus, it only takes a tiny bit of butter for a whole pot of "pearl couscous" and butter is, as always, trans-fat free.

The third type of couscous is the original form. Traditionally, the peoples of North Africa and the eastern shores of the Mediterranean would grind durum semolina wheat grains until the hardest part of the grain remained as kernels larger in size than the flour the rest of each grain yielded. Groups of women would gather together to prepare enormous batches of couscous for future use. First, they would moisten the hard semolina kernels with a little water; then they would toss the moistened kernels in flour; then they would roll the floured kernels between their hands to ensure an even coating of flour; then they would place the coated kernels into a sieve in order to sort out any kernels too small to stay in the sieve. (These too-small kernels would be given a further coat or coats of flour until they reached the proper size.) Finally, the coated and properly-sized couscous would be spread out to dry in the sun. Prepared in this manner, the couscous would keep for weeks or even months.

This traditional and highly time-consuming type of couscous can not be prepared by simply adding boiling water and waiting a few minutes. Instead, it is cooked in a special two-part pot. The bottom part of the pot holds a savory stew of some sort, while the upper part holds the couscous. As the stew simmers beneath, fine holes in the bottom of the upper part (now you know why the couscous was sieved to remove too-small pieces) allow steam to rise and cook the couscous at the same time. Some people in North Africa who follow their ancestors' nomadic lifestyle still make and cook couscous this way... but without visiting there, you're not very likely to encounter the original kind of couscous. ;)