is familiar to many of us through the Middle Eastern dishes tabbouleh and kibbeh Bulgur is wheat that has been steamed whole, dried, then cracked So bulgur is essentially precooked and quick to prepare It comes in three grinds -- fine (#1), medium (#2), and coarse (#3) Fine and medium bulgurs are used for tabbouleh, and the coarse is good in pilafs Bulgur, especially fine bulgur, needs only to be soaked to become tender, but it can also be cooked pilaf-style You can find bulgur in Middle Eastern markets as well as natural foods stores
cracked wheat (bulgur = tzavar in armenian) is a cooked wheat which is dried and ground into four sizes (1: fine, 2: medium, 3: big, 4 or half-cut: bigger) Usually available in Middle Eastern or Armenian specialty food stores and used like rice in pilaf dishes [see lentil bulgur pilaf]