Questions & Answers - Farina Flour, Cream of Wheat

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Question:

My cookbook calls for a seasoning called FARINA.  It is a spinach pie with feta cheese and cottage cheese, etc.   When I try to find it at a grocery store no one seems to have heard of it.  I will probably write to the author of the book and try to get a response as to exactly what farina is but I wanted to try you first.  What is farina and where can I find it? - Thanks for any help you can give me. 
- Tyra Kennedy (6/10/01)
 

Answers:

Farina: Flour or meal (of grain or starchy roots.) Also sold as Cream of Wheat, farina is made from the endosperm of the grain, which is milled to a fine granular consistency and then sifted. Although the bran and most of the germ are removed, this cereal is sometimes enriched with B vitamins and iron. Farina is most often served as a breakfast cereal, but can also be cooked like polenta.

Its name comes from the Latin word for meal or flour, which in turn traces to far, the Latin name for spelt, a type of wheat. Farina was the first genuine flour before milling stones.