Have you ever heard the word farinaceous thrown around and wondered what it means? Well the word "farinaceous" is derived from the Latin word farina, which means flour. Wheat flour is largely made up of starch and the term Farinaceous is now used for any food commodity high in starch.
So in plain language what is a farinaceous dish?
A farinaceous dish refers to dishes made from pasta, noodles, rice, polenta or gnocchi.
Farinaceous commodities are highly nutritious and provide energy and dietary fibre and they include starchy flours, cereals, pulses, starchy vegetables and even parts of trees!
Let's have a look at some farinaceous dishes.
Pasta and Noodles
Before Marco Polo brought the art of noodle making to Italy from China, 700 years ago, Italians made flour into various kinds of dumplings. Italian pasta and all the shapes that we use like spaghetti, fettuccini, were based on the shapes of Chinese noodles.
Basic pasta/noodle dough is made from flour and water or flour and eggs.
Pasta can be cooked after it is made, to be eaten fresh dried and stored for later use.
There are many different pasta shapes that are based on the same basic dough.
Rice
Rice is grains obtained from a cereal plant. It is a very versatile product and is used extensively throughout the world. Rice is one of the most widely eaten foods in the world. It can be served as an accompaniment or as part of a main dish.
Polenta
Polenta is made from ground yellow cornmeal. The grains are graded according to its texture into fine, medium or course and are sold in these grades. Polenta is made by adding water or milk to the cornmeal and simmering to produce a stiff golden porridge like mixture.
Gnocchi
Gnocchi are small dumplings that have been poached in salted water. Gnocchi are made into various shapes, the shape depends on the ingredients they are made from.
Spätzle
Spätzle is another type of dumpling similar to gnocchi, though smaller in size. These dumplings are made from flour, eggs and milk. The mixture is passed through a large holed vegetable strainer.
Couscous
Couscous is the name given to finely milled semolina. Semolina is first made into granulated hard flour prepared from the central part of the wheat grain. Couscous is a staple food of North African countries though it is now being used throughout the world.
Sago and Tapioca
Sago and Tapioca are both starch extracts, sago from various southeast Asian palms and tapioca from the cassava plant. Sago is processed into flour or granulated into small balls called pearl sago. Sago is used to make sweet dishes, including steam pudding. Tapioca is made into flour or whitish small pearl shapes called "pearl tapioca". The flour can be used as a thickener in soups, while the pearl tapioca is used in sweets such as a pudding or egg custard.
Spaghetti Squash
Belonging to the marrow family this squash has a hard yellow skin with fibrous fibres. Once steamed or baked these fibres resemble spaghetti and can be gently separated using a fork. A suitable sauce can then be added.
