Hummus

Hummus

Hummus with olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and za'atar (with sumac)
Origin
Place of origin	Levant
Dish details
Course served	Meze
Serving temperature	Cold
Main ingredient(s)	chickpeas, olive oil

Hummus (a transliteration of the Arabic: حمّص‎; also spelled hamos, homos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos or hummous; see romanization of Arabic) is a Levantine Arab^[1] dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It is a popular food throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.

Etymology

The word comes from Arabic: حمّص‎ḥummuṣ^[2] 'chickpeas'. Like many other Arabic loanwords and names, romanized spellings of the word in English can be inconsistent.^[2] The earliest use of the word hummus in English as noted by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was in 1955.^[3] Among the common spellings for this word as transliterated into English are hummus, hommos and hoummos. The spelling humus is generally avoided in English as it is a homonym of humus (organic matter in soil), though this is the usual Turkish spelling^[2] and the OED indicates the word entered the English language from Turkish.^[3] The full Arabic name of the prepared spread is حُمُّص بطحينة (ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna) which means chickpeas with tahini.

Historical origins

Hummus with pine nuts and olive oil

Many cuisine-related sources carry forward a folklore which describes hummus as one of the oldest known prepared foods^[4][5][6] with a long history in the Middle East stretching back to antiquity, but its historical origins are unknown.^[7][8] The historical enigma is such that the origins of hummus-bi-tahini could be much more recent than is widely believed. One of the earliest verifiable descriptions of hummus comes from 18th-century Damascus and the same source claims it was unknown elsewhere.^[9]

Meanwhile some cookbooks repeat the legend that hummus was first prepared in the 12th century by Saladin.^[10] Sources such as Cooking in Ancient Civilizations by Cathy K. Kaufman^[11] carry speculative recipes for an ancient Egyptian hummus, substituting vinegar for lemon juice, but acknowledge we do not know how the Egyptians ate their chick-peas. Similarly, no recipe for hummus has been identified among the many books on cooking surviving from ancient Rome.

Charles Perry, co-author of Medieval Arab Cookery notes that owing to hummus bi tahina being an everyday staple, and because of the lack of Arab recipe books published between the 14th and 20th centuries, no recipes documenting this food's early ingredients have been found. He says the nearest medieval example recorded in a 13th century Arab cookbook, Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada is Hummus kasa, which substitutes vinegar for lemon, includes extra herbs and adds walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios.^[12][13]

History of the ingredients

Chickpeas and sesame, the crops from which hummus's main ingredients are taken, were known and cultivated in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern worlds. Hummus's principal ingredient, chickpeas, have been a human food item for over 10,000 years.^[14] They were eaten by people in ancient Palestine before 4000 BC, were one of the earliest crops cultivated in Mesopotamia and were a common street dish in ancient Rome.^[11] The Roman orator Cicero was named for an ancestor who had a wart on his nose shaped like a chickpea. Archeological evidence identifies chickpeas in the Sumerian diet before 2500 BC.^[15] They are noted in a 13th century work by Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi of Persia for a "simple dish" of meat, pulses and spices.^[16] It is unknown whether chickpeas were commonly mashed in any of these cultures. Tahini (sesame paste) likewise lacks any clear historical context. Sesame was grown as a crop in ancient Assyrian and Babylonian gardens and is mentioned by Columella.^[17] It was common in Roman and Persian kitchens in the form of sesame oil but not as the tahini paste of hummus-bi-tahini.^[18]

Other ingredients are used in sundry recipes of hummus-bi-tahini. The olive originated in Syria and Palestine, where it was being cultivated by the fourth millennium BC. A variety may have been indigenous to Crete, where olives were being cultivated by 2500 BC. The Bible mentions olive oil many times and it was exported to places such as Egypt. Several Roman writers indicate that salt was used in extracting the oil.^[19] Garlic was grown in the gardens of King Merodach-Baladan II of Babylon and probably was in Greece by the early Bronze Age.^[20] The lemon was last to arrive in the Middle East and Mediterranean world, originating in India. However, depictions of lemons have been found at Pompeii and Tusculum, so this fruit must have reached the Roman world, at least as a luxury import, by the first century.^[21]

Nutritional information

Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C, and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6.^[22] The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the chickpeas. Depending on the recipe, hummus carries varying amounts of monounsaturated fat.^[23] Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegan diets and like other combinations of grains and pulses, when eaten with bread it serves as a complete protein.

Serving methods

Lebanese hummus, garnished with whole chickpeas, on a Yemeni serving dish

As an appetizer and dip, hummus is scooped with flatbread (such as pita). It is also served as part of a meze or as an accompaniment to falafel, grilled chicken, fish or eggplant. Garnishes include chopped tomato, cucumber, cilantro, parsley, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, whole chickpeas, olive oil, hard-boiled eggs, paprika, sumac, ful, olives and pickles. Outside the Middle East, it is sometimes served with tortilla chips or crackers.

Hummus ful (pronounced /fuːl/) is topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled until soft and then crushed. Hummus masubha/mashawsha is a mixture of hummus paste, warm chickpeas and tahini.

In Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East, Arto der Haroutunian calls hummus "one of the most popular and best-known of all Syrian dishes" and "a must on any mezzeh table."^[24] Syrians in Canada's Arab diaspora prepare and consume hummus along with other dishes like falafel, kibbe and tabouleh, even among the third and fourth-generation offspring of the original immigrants.^[25]

Hummus topped with whole chickpeas and olive oil.

Consumption by Palestinians

For Palestinians, hummus has long been a staple food, garnished with olive oil and "nana" mint leaves, paprika, parsley or cumin.^[26] A related dish popular in the region of Palestine and Jordan is laban ma' hummus ("yogurt and chickpeas"), which uses yogurt in the place of tahini and butter in the place of olive oil. The chickpeas are first boiled alone before the other ingredients are added and it is served hot.^[27]

Consumption by Israelis

Hummus is a common part of everyday meals in Israel.^[28] Israelis elevated Hummus to become a "national food symbol" and consume more than twice as much hummus as their Arab neighbors, according to figures by Tsabar Salads, a hummus manufacturer in Israel.^[29] Commenting on its popularity, Gil Hovav, an Israeli food editor interviewed on the BBC program Cooking in the Danger Zone, stated that "even during the intifada years Jews would sneak [...] into the Muslim quarter just to have a vital, really genuine good humous," and noted that like many dishes considered to be Israeli national foods, hummus is actually Arab.^[30] However, he also said, commenting on Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian or Yemeni food in Israel, that "Jews came from these countries to Israel and they brought their food with them".^[31] Many restaurants run by Mizrahi Jews and Arab citizens of Israel are dedicated to hot hummus, which may be served as chick peas softened with baking soda along with garlic, olive oil, cumin and tahini. One of the fancier traditional hummus versions available is hummus masabacha, made with lemon-spiked tahini garnished with whole chick peas, a sprinkling of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.^[32] Hummus is sold in restaurants, supermarkets and hummus-only shops (known in Hebrew as humusiot).

Initially, hummus was not everyday fair among Israelis, since it it took time and effort to produce it at home, and the hummus sold in hummus stores and street vendors was expensive for the average person.^[33] The transformation began in 1994, when the Strauss Group introduced to Israel the concept of prepackaged hummus sold under the brand name Achla. In 1999, the Osem company began competing under the brand name Tzabar, transforming hummus from a beloved food into a common and ubiquitous household item.^[33]

Consumption as a packaged product

In the US Market

By the end of the 20th century, hummus has emerged as part of the American culinary fabric^[33]. In 2008, more than fifteen million Americans consumed hummus on a regular basis.^[33] Hummus was popularized in the United States by Jews returning from visits in Israel and by Israeli expatriates. ^[33]

According to a 2010 market research, hummus consumption in the United States has increased by 35% over a period of 21 months, with sales reaching nearly $300 million. In 2006, hummus was present in 12% percent of American households, rising to 17% by early 2009. ^[34] One commentator attributed the growth of Hummus to America’s embrace of ethnic foods, and to experimentation with exotic foods.^[34]

In November 2009, Gadi Lesin, President & CEO of the Israeli Strauss group food manufacturer said that market share of co-owned Sabra Dipping Company in the USA makes it the largest packaged hummus dip manufacturer in the world.^[35]

Controversy

Lebanese produced hummus in a can, sold in Sweden.

In October 2008 the Association of Lebanese Industrialists petitioned to the Lebanese ministry of Economy to request protected status from the European Commission for hummus as a uniquely Lebanese food, similar to the Protected Geographical Status rights held over regional food items by various European Union countries.^[36][37][38] Fadi Abboud (president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association), stated that "Israelis have usurped several Lebanese and oriental products",[1]. According to Abboud, Lebanon exported the first hummus dish in 1959.^[39] As a response, food critic Janna Gur wrote: "The success of certain brands of Israeli hummus abroad may have been what brought about Abboud's anger", leading him to claim that Israel has been "stealing" their country's national dishes, like hummus, falafel, tabbouleh and baba ghanouj.^[40] In response, Shooky Galili, an Israeli journalist specialising in food who writes a blog dedicated to hummus),[2] said that "trying to make a copyright claim over hummus is like claiming for the rights to bread or wine. Hummus is a centuries old Arab dish—nobody owns it, it belongs to the region.^[41] As of late 2009, the Lebanese Industrialists Association was still "preparing documents and proof" to support its claim.^[42]

World record

In May 2010, the Guinness World Record for the largest dish of hummus in the world returned to Lebanon.^[41][43] The winning dish, cooked by 300 cooks in the village of al-Fanar, near Beirut, weighed 10,452 kg (22,994 lbs, equal to 11.5 U.S. tons), more than double the previous record set by 50 Israeli Arabs and Jews who cooked 4,087.5 kg (8992.5 lbs) in January 2010 in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh.^[44][45][46] According to local media, the recipe included 8 tons of boiled chick peas, 2 tons of tahini, 2 tons of lemon juice and 70 kg (154 lbs) of olive oil.^[41]

In popular culture

The 2008 action comedy film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, starring Adam Sandler, poked fun of the Israeli passion for hummus. In the movie, characters even used it to brush their teeth and as a method to put out fires.^[33]

See also

• Ful and Hummus

References

Bibliography

Further reading