Semolina, couscous, pasta, flour and bread: what the Tayyibat system keeps

Short answer

Only whole wheat semolina is kept, in the form of whole wheat couscous. The refined semolina sold in stores is not, and pasta is set aside (khabith in Arabic, the word Dr Diaa Al-Awadi uses for what he puts on the set-aside side). Food by food. Whole wheat couscous: kept, whole wheat semolina only, as an occasional dish. Whole bread: kept. White bread: set aside. Pasta, whole wheat included: set aside, the list makes no exception. Pizza and croissant: set aside. White flour: to be avoided. Whole wheat flour: it has no line of its own on the list, but the system keeps what is made from whole wheat, whole bread and the whole wheat semolina of couscous. Alongside, rice, freekeh, bulgur, whole barley, and corn are kept.

The table: semolina, couscous, pasta, flour and bread

Here is every product from the question, with its status and the condition when there is one.

The dividing line is not wheat itself, it is how processed it is: a whole grain, intact or cracked, passes; a refined grain, worked into a dough, stops at the door. The full food list covers all 122 foods of the system, not only the cereals.

Semolina and couscous: only whole wheat semolina passes

Semolina is what couscous is made of, and the system judges it on a single criterion: whole or refined. For whole wheat couscous, the condition is set in black and white: whole wheat semolina only, never refined. It is a Friday dish in Morocco, to be eaten occasionally, steamed in a traditional couscoussier, three steaming cycles at minimum. A store-bought couscous made of white semolina therefore does not meet the condition: only whole wheat semolina enters the palette, never the white semolina sold in stores. And even whole wheat couscous remains an occasional Friday dish, not a weekly routine. The other wheats on the list follow the same whole grain logic: bulgur and freekeh are kept, as are whole barley (a rare dish, heavy to digest), rice, and corn.

Pasta, even whole wheat: no exception

Pasta is set aside. Readers write to ask whether whole wheat pasta passes: the system's list sets pasta aside without making an exception, and no whole wheat variant appears on it among the kept foods. The rule covers pasta of any shape. Pizza and croissant are set aside too, like white bread. On the cereal side, the plate is built on rice, freekeh, whole wheat couscous, and whole bread. In a restaurant the rule is the same: rice or whole bread, never pasta.

Flour and bread: white set aside, whole wheat flour has no line of its own

White refined flour and everything built on it (white bread, pizza, croissant, pasta) are to be avoided. Whole wheat flour has no line of its own on the list. But the system keeps what is made from whole wheat: whole bread, preferably made with sourdough, and the whole wheat semolina of couscous. The criterion stays the same: whole yes, refined no. Whole bread is kept, white bread is set aside (why white bread is set aside). Beware of the "multigrain" label: a bread that is mostly white wheat sprinkled with seeds is still white bread in disguise. If you want to go further, you can receive the free excerpt of the guide: you leave your email address to get it.

Frequently asked questions

Is semolina allowed in Tayyibat? Only whole wheat semolina is, in whole wheat couscous, an occasional dish. The refined semolina sold in stores does not enter. Does whole wheat pasta pass? No: the list sets pasta aside without making an exception, and no whole wheat variant appears on it among the kept foods. What about whole wheat flour? It has no line of its own on the list, but the system keeps what is made from whole wheat: whole bread, preferably made with sourdough, and couscous made with whole wheat semolina. Refined white flour is to be avoided.