Hummus: Additives, Techniques, Recipes

[lmarshal1]

Thank you all so much for so many suggestions for making hummus. I remember when I asked for recipes for guacamole some time ago, I felt like I had received a 101 course in guacamole and the permission to be inventive! Same here. Thanks again. lkm

[k43]

In response to Snowangel's request, I've added my Super-High-Test Hummus to RecipeGullet rather than putting it here.

It's unusual, with a 1:1:1 ratio of chick peas, lemon juice and tahini, but it's pretty much what was in a genuine Turkish cookbook, and I've never had guests leave even a morsel of it behind.

Edited July 5, 2005 by k43 (log)

[bleachboy]

Here's the "hummus" my wife makes periodically for parties. No, it's obviously not really hummus, but it's very good indeed:

Sista's Hummus

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup tahini

4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons chipotle chilies in adobo

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1½ teaspoons cumin

1 little jar of chopped green chilies

Water to thin to desired consistency

1. Put it all in the food processor and blend well.

[bleachboy]

p.s. Here is the aforementioned hummus recipe, but in RecipeGullet. I hope I did it right!!

[lmarshal1]

bleachboy: Sounds "real" to me! That's one thing I like about such recipes: The possibilities for invention! Sounds very tasty! lkm

[LindaK]

Another tip I learned back then, instead of just scooping some tahini from a jar and using it straight, try mixing the tahini with a little lemon juice and garlic until it is white and 'tight,' then loosen with cold water before adding some of the chickpea cooking liquid, the chickpeas, and the seasoning. The final hummus will be lighter and creamier. If you let it rest and mellow for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature it will only be better.

Your recipe for hummus in Mediterranean Cooking uses this technique, I think. I tried it for the first time just this past weekend (not sure why, I've had the cookbook for ages) and it was the best hummus I've ever made. I think I added a bit more lemon juice at the end than your recipe called for, but the "tightening" technique you describe makes a big difference.

[scubadoo97]

It is true that sesame seeds and toasted  sesame oil quickly become rancid. They should be kept refrigerated.

  On the other hand, tahini and non-toasted seame oil can be kept for years on the cupboard shelf without turning rancid.  +

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I have smelled some very racid tahini before. The quality of the tahini make a big difference in the end product IMO. I still keep mine out of the fridge because I like it smooth where the oil and thick paste are well blended before using. Hummus recipes can vary to where it is no longer hummus. Black bean hummus for example. The word hummus means chick pea. I do mine the traditional way with tahini, olive oil, fresh lemon juice and garlic. Our family always added a little ground cumin to the mix. My grandmother would always peel the chick peas but I just don't have the desire to sit and do that so the KA food processor grinds it fine enough to make it smooth. Hers was like velvet.

You can get creative with hummus and it's all good.

[Wolfert]

your recipe called for, but the "tightening" technique you describe makes a big difference.

A French food writer once wrote that 'every recipe has a hidden side-- like the moon. "

[Ericanyc]

I know I'm late chiming inbut when I make hummus I use Sesame oil instead of tahini (I always have sesame oil- both kinds and never tahini) I use a combination of olive oil and sesame oil (untoasted) and I always mash with a potato masher (my husband prefers it chunky and I hate cleaning the food processor).

Lots of lemon, some garlic (never tried roasted but maybe next time)and a bit of cumin... S&P to taste and you're done-- it also always tastes better the next day. I can live on it in the summer... it's also great for taking to a picnic.

[Corinna Dunne]

Israeli food writers argued endlessly about such matters as whether in a proper hummus the chickpeas must be peeled or the tahini refrigerated. So, when I returned home in side by side tests the peeled chickpeas produced  a better flavor and color. Try it and let me know, but please use home cooked chickpeas and press them through a food mill.

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After all your great advice, I forgot to soak some dried chickpeas for dinner this weekend and ended up using an organic canned variety for the hummus I was making. And I discovered that my food mill was broken, so had to skip this step and ended up using the food processor on its own. I was amazed at how inferior this hummus was to previous batches when I had cooked my own chickpeas. But for the first time, I was also very conscious of the skins. So even though I have not yet managed to follow your recipe, you have a complete convert here. It will definitely be 'skins off' in future! Thanks for the good steer.

[sadistick]

You dont need tahini to make humus...thats tahina...

If you can find dried smoked chickpeas, they usually come from isreal, get those...they are amazing.

Also I would highly recommend roasting your garlic, and use the best evoo you can afford.

[lmarshal1]

I tried some canned hummus...ugh...awful...with a fake lemon taste overpowering the rest. Time to make some of my own. I liked the consistency of the canned stuff and the chickpea taste, but the lemon...yuk. My daughter-in-law suggested trying hummus in the refrigerated section of the grocery before making my own. lkm

[Khadija]

When I was in my early years of university, I did not have a food processor, so I would buy pre-made hummus from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. All the types I could find used vinegar and no lemon juice, which tasted a bit funny in my opinion.

[Corinna Dunne]

Thaks for this.  Really interesting.  As it happens, I plan to make hummus this weekend, so will follow your tips.  One question though, do the chickpeas retain more texture when you use a foodmill as opposed to a food processor?

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You can press the chickpeas through the fine blade of the food mill then make it in the food processor. It's an extra step but I think worth it.

I forgot to mention this upthread: You can also take cooked chickpeas and place them in a deep bucket with plenty of water and use your hands to swirl them around until all the peels float to the top. This is the way it is done in the finest Moroccan kitchens. Peeled chickpeas are used in a couscous or a tagine.

Moroccans make a type of hummus dip without tahini called serruda. IN this case, they don't peel the chickpeas.

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I have finally got around to making hummus exactly as you suggest, and it is truly the best hummus I have ever had. Leaving the skins of the chickpeas out makes all the difference and the hummus nearly reaches the creamy proportions of babbaganoush.

However, I haven't had much luck with my food mill. At first I thought it was broken, but since discovered that I didn't have the handle lodged in properly. So when I used it the next time, I was feeling confident of a good result. But I found that the chickpeas didn't really go through properly and the skins clogged up the blade. (The manufacturer is ACEA Passavedura, made in Italy).

So, last night when I made it, I took the skins off by hand, which was a bit labourious as they didin't all float to the top for me. I had soaked the chickpeas overnight, they were well cooked, and they had been bought recently, so would not have been dried out.

Any advice on improving my mouli technique would be very welcome.

[CharityCase]

We tried a palestinian restaurant last week and loved their hummus. I asked for his secret and he insisted that the best hummus is made with dried chickpeas, because canned chickpeas aren't cooked to the right level of doneness. And sometimes they impart that wierd metallic taste.

He also insisted that you take the chickpea skins out in order for it to be smooth. And he said to only use lebanese tahini, and then we had a lighthearted argument about that, since my father is Israeli, but all in good fun of course.

[ronnie_suburban]

As to which chick peas to use: I've even started with dried chickpeas, pressure-cooked till nice and mashable, and not noticed all that much difference in the finished product.

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I've taken a few classes at a local DC Lebanese restaurant and their recipe calls for soaked and cooked dried beans and I thought it made all the difference in the world in terms of texture.

Whenever I've tried with canned chickpeas the texture has been a little grainy. The dried beans make a smooth, more creamy version that I really like.

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I've always felt this way too -- until tonight when I made a batch from canned beans -- but removed the skins. I thought it made for a noticeable improvement in both flavor and the texture, relative to batches I've made in the past with canned, unskinned beans. In the past, I've also made several batches from dried beans, but the skins don't seem to have the same "off" flavor that the canned version do.

But still, I'm sorry to say -- because it's an annoying amount of work -- that removing the skins from canned beans greatly improved the final product. When I looked at the pile of discarded skins I'd removed from only 1 can of beans, I could better understand this concept; it was a relatively large mound of somewhat bitter and essentially insoluble material which, this time around, didn't find its way into my hummus.

I guess that next time I make hummus from dried beans I'll do the same and see what impact, if any, it has on the final product. As Tess Mallos says in The Complete Middle East Cookbook, "...Even if using a modern appliance the chick peas must be separated from their skins for a successful hummus." I wanted not to believe this but I think she may be right. *Sigh*

=R=

[snowangel]

I also notice a big difference when they are skinned. I put them in a bowl of water, make Peter wash his hands very well, and pay him $.25 to skin them! Rub them around and the skins pop right off. I also think that the canned chick peas I get at the Middle Eastern market (I can't remember the brand name, but it's one one that I see in local supermarkets) to be vastly superior.

[chefzadi]

A little late in the season around here. But try it wit fresh chick peas, no tahini.

[KatieLoeb]

Another nice add-in is a canned (seeded, or it's too hot) chiplotle with a bit of the adobo sauce from the can. Makes for a spicy and tasty hummus. I also like well drained and rinsed artichoke heart for an artichoke hummus.

[deltadoc]

My Palestinian restaurant cook friends showed me how they make hummous. It is the best I've yet to eat anywhere.

They make it in big batches, but basically start with a very large stock pot, filled with dried garbanzos (chick peas) and let them soak overnight. In the early morning, they start to simmer the pot, and add a touch of baking soda to help reduce acid, and to cause the skins to float to the top where they're periodically skimmed off.

The tahini they use was always made from lightly toasted Tahini. Lots of fresh garlic and lemon juice, some salt, some pepper, and a touch of cayenne. I've seen them sometimes use some cumin for variety.

When served it is always spread out on a large platter, with a pool of EVOO in the center , drizzled with fresh lemon juice, and sprinkled with paprika.

They explained that this was considered breakfast, and whenever I arrived at the restaurant just as it opened at 11am, the bunch of 'em were sometimes still sitting around a table with a big platter of hummous dipping into it with pita bread.

I've made hummous with raw tahini, and with toasted tahini. I kind of like both, but the toasted tahnini gives a richer flavor. Tahini was always explained to me to be peanut butter made with roasted sesame seeds instead of roasted peanuts.

I've also heard the argument about "true" hummous containing no tahini, and if it does, it becomes "hummous bi tahini". But I've only once ever ordered hummous in a restaurant and had it not contain tahini. When questioned about it, the owner told me they had run out of the tahini that day, and had no time to wait for some to be delivered.

doc

Edited September 25, 2005 by deltadoc (log)

[Pumpkin Lover]

I've been thinking about having healthier snacks in the fridge for those post-partying moments before I crash in bed, so I made hummus last week. There was only Joyva tahini at my local C-Town--I had no idea that tahini was so high in fat, so I declined to buy it, but I'm pretty happy with the way my dip came out. I caramelized an onion, quickly sauteed three cloves of garlic at the end, chucked the mess in the blender with water, oil, and the onion juices, and let it rip. I was *very* happy with the way the water helped with the blending--I like my hummus super-smooth, so I ended up using about a cup of water to two cans of chickpeas. And I didn't have to add oil and feel guilty about using more fat. Goya chickpeas, mmmmm.

Oh! And I used lime juice instead of lemon--limes are much cheaper in my 'nabe than lemons, and we always have them on hand for our Corona and guacamole nights. The lime juice really lifted the heavy onion flavor. I used the hummus as a salad dressing mixed with a little salsa--it sounds like a PMS-style snack, but it's high in fiber and makes me feel good. Can't go wrong with that!

[snowangel]

Hummus is a fridge staple in our house. I just cooked up two pounds of dried chickpeas, so I can make a batch of hummus. Since this will make far more hummus than I want in the fridge now, I wonder -- is it better to freeze the remaining cooked chickpeas or make it all into hummus and freeze some of that?

[ChefCrash]

snowangel

I'm glad you are enjoying Hummus.

I'm relatively new here. I'm still reading whole threads from four years ago. I spent the morning reading this one. I looked up, found and bookmarked the "authentic" thread. I'll have to read it before I can voice my opinion and give everyone here the recipe.

[Behemoth]

However, I haven't had much luck with my food mill.  At first I thought it was broken, but since discovered that I didn't have the handle lodged in properly.  So when I used it the next time, I was feeling confident of a good result. But I found that the chickpeas didn't really go through properly and the skins clogged up the blade.  (The manufacturer is ACEA Passavedura, made in Italy).

So, last night when I made it, I took the skins off by hand, which was a bit labourious as they didin't all float to the top for me.  I had soaked the chickpeas overnight,  they were well cooked, and they had been bought recently, so would not have been dried out.

Any advice on improving my mouli technique would be very welcome.

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Corinna, sorry I saw this so late. With the food mill, you have to keep adding liquid during the process so that the peas that have been mashed pass through more easily, otherwise everything just sits there and clogs up. When using a food mill, I add the liquid ingredients (tahini, lemon juice & water mixture as well as olive oil) bit by bit into the food mill along with the chickpeas. It is a pain in the ass though, still. The bowl of water method works pretty well for me with some vigurous rubbing especially since, unless I'm feeling very kitchen fundamentalist, I just try to take a bunch of skins off even if I don't get every last one of them. In that case I just dump everything into the blender afterwards, so at least that part is easier. It's just a question of which type of work you find more tedious.

[chefzadi]

However, I haven't had much luck with my food mill.  At first I thought it was broken, but since discovered that I didn't have the handle lodged in properly.  So when I used it the next time, I was feeling confident of a good result. But I found that the chickpeas didn't really go through properly and the skins clogged up the blade.  (The manufacturer is ACEA Passavedura, made in Italy).

So, last night when I made it, I took the skins off by hand, which was a bit labourious as they didin't all float to the top for me.  I had soaked the chickpeas overnight,  they were well cooked, and they had been bought recently, so would not have been dried out.

Any advice on improving my mouli technique would be very welcome.

←

Corinna, sorry I saw this so late. With the food mill, you have to keep adding liquid during the process so that the peas that have been mashed pass through more easily, otherwise everything just sits there and clogs up. When using a food mill, I add the liquid ingredients (tahini, lemon juice & water mixture as well as olive oil) bit by bit into the food mill along with the chickpeas. It is a pain in the ass though, still. The bowl of water method works pretty well for me with some vigurous rubbing especially since, unless I'm feeling very kitchen fundamentalist, I just try to take a bunch of skins off even if I don't get every last one of them. In that case I just dump everything into the blender afterwards, so at least that part is easier. It's just a question of which type of work you find more tedious.

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The skins provide lots of extra fiber, good for long desert trips and for sailing around the world.

If you mash the peas the old fashioned way (pound the suckers) the skins float to the top. I can't imagine anyone in Palestine throwing it out though. Filling stuff.