The Art of Hummus

November 27, 2007 - 4:00 PM by Stephanie

Have you ever tried making hummus at home?

I have. And it never turns out tasty. It’s either too grainy or has too much tehini in it or it’s lacking some je ne c’est quoi quality that renders the flavor Blechy.

Luckily we here in the Mid-East can hop on over to Jaffa or Jerusalem or Abu Ghosh and get fab takeaway hummus. But for the “outside dwellers” reading this…well…so sorry. You’re sort of left with the supermarket variety, aren’tcha? I’m not gloating. Just saying. We pay high taxes. We get good hummus.

Over at The Hummus Blog, the mystery is being removed from the art of hummus preparation with tips on the Ten Most Common Mistakes Made in Hummus Recipes. We’ll share a few here and then you’ll need to mosey on over to check out the rest. Happy dipping. Over & out.

1. Using canned chickpeas instead of dried ones.
(example: Eco Child’s Play).
That’s the most common mistake of all, and it is devastating to both flavor and nutritional value. I devoted a special post for that canned chickpeas thing.

2. Using oil instead of tahini, and/or using too little tahini.
(example: Cooking with Vegs)
Some people actually confuse tahini with sesame oil with tahini. Some so-called respectable restaurants, use oil because it’s cheaper. For these reasons, many people do not know how real hummus should taste like.

3. Using too much tahini.
(example: Eco Child’s Play)
I’m very fond of tahini and use it as much as I can in many dishes. But in the case of hummus, too much tahini in not a good idea.

4. Using WAY too much garlic.
(example: RecipeZaar)
Too much garlic in your hummus will make it taste like… well, garlic. I do like garlic very much, but I also like my hummus to taste like hummus, not like garlic.

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