Semolina

Semolina is the food prepared by grinding and bolting cleaned durum wheat, a hard wheat milled into a granular meal instead of a fine powder. The international food standard describes durum wheat semolina the same way, as a product of grinding or milling durum grain with the bran and germ essentially removed.

U.S. rules set out how coarse it must be: all of it passes a No. 20 sieve, and no more than 3 percent passes a No. 100 sieve. Enough bran is taken out to keep ash at or below 0.92 percent on a moisture-free basis, and moisture may not exceed 15 percent.

Its sandy, grainy texture is what sets it apart from ordinary flour. It is the classic base for dried pasta and couscous, and in desserts it is cooked into milk puddings or baked into cakes and sweets, where it adds a pleasantly gritty bite.