BULGUR: FACTS & TRIVIA
Bulgur is white or red, hard or soft, whole wheat kernels that have been soaked, boiled, dried, then removing 5 percent of the bran and cracking the remaining kernel into small pieces. The result is parcooked, cracked wheat. Bulgur differs from cracked wheat in that it is pre-cooked.
Bulgur may be sold as a pilaf or ‘tabouli’ (also spelled ‘tabouleh’) mix and may be called tabouli wheat. In stores, bulgur can be found near the pasta, rice or hot cereal, or in a specialty food aisle.
(Tabouleh Salad Recipes)
Bulgur can be used as a main entree or side dish with seasonings, vegetables, nuts or small amounts of meats or fish. Bulgur can also be stirred into waffles, pancakes, muffins, salads or baked goods to add a nutty flavor without the fat.
Arab, Israeli, Egyptian and Roman civilizations record eating dried cooked wheat as early as 1,000 B.C. Evidence shows the Chinese ate this grain food as early as 2,800 B.C. The Roman word for bulgur is cerealis, after Ceres, the goddess of harvest; Israelites called it dagan, a word meaning “bursting kernels of grain;” other Mid-Easterners called it arisah, and it is a mainstay in the diet.
(Wheat Foods Council)
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