As we all know, it only takes a word from the likes of Nigella or Delia to sell a product. First Nigella suggested semolina as a coating for crispy roast potatoes. Now Delia has had everyone rushing to roll their fishcakes in it. M&S, which has bowed to a more adventurous, let’s-cook-from-scratch streak in its customers by expanding its ingredients range, has been stunned by sales of semolina since it began stocking the grainy yellow flour in May. Apparently it is even outselling self-raising flour.

WHAT IS SEMOLINA? A term that describes a process, rather than an ingredient, it is traditionally made from hard durum wheat. When the wheat is milled, the endosperm, or heart of the wheat kernel, breaks into tiny amber-coloured chips, which are the basis of the production of pasta and couscous, and can be used in all sorts of cooking from savoury to sweet. The semolina can be ground to give a coarse or fine “flour”. The one sold by M&S and most supermarkets is a fine-ground, all-purpose one.

There is also a version of semolina that is made with soft wheat and which looks white rather than yellow, which is most often mixed with hot milk to make a mushy breakfast cereal which Americans would know as Farina, or Cream of Wheat. Also, other grains that are ground in a similar way sometimes have semolina tagged on to them, for example corn semolina.

HOW DO YOU USE IT? Its beauty is its versatility. A bedrock of cooking from North Africa and southern India to Greece and Lebanon, you can use it in anything from milky puddings to biscuits, for coating prawns before sautéeing, in breads and pizza bases, and anything else that might benefit from a slight crunch.

WHAT ABOUT THE DREADED PUDDINGS? For many people, the mere mention of semolina induces a shudder of horror at the memory of bland, milky school puddings. “Public schoolboys think of it as a nightmare, but I have always loved semolina,” says Richard Corrigan, of Lindsay House. “You have to see it as a carrier of flavours. It needs richness, sweetness and most of all red fruit. Cooked slowly with some milk, sugar and a vanilla pod, then cooled down, with a rich custard mixed into it and served with Scottish raspberries: that is a beautiful summer dessert.”

READERS' QUERIES

Where can I find buffalo milk and yoghurt for my son who is intolerant of cow’s milk?

Higher Alham Wood farm in Somerset sells buffalo milk products locally and across London’s farmers’ markets. It is also available at Roger Saul’s new Sharpham Park Shop at Kilver Court Gardens in Shepton Mallet, which opened this week. Its yoghurt is unsweetened and crusty-topped (£1.75 for a 1lb jar); the milk (which freezes well) is very rich and mouth-filling and can be used like a thin cream. It also does a range of cheeses, from pecorino-style to mozzarella (01749 880221; alhamwood@supanet.com).

If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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