316864 Fri Aug 11 19:09:56 -0700 2006 89 31 Home Cooking 0 1802458 I am always wondering why hummous that you make at home with a food processor is never as good as the stuff you get in restaurants. Admittedly I used canned chick peas, tahini and olive oil. Then I was turned on to canned fava beans which I thought vastly superior to chick peas (although they were much cheaper and easier to get in Jersey City than in Philadelphia). However, it still was not the same. Do they cook the beans longer? Should they start dried? I think it is more the smooth texture that I am missing. Making it at home, it just seems grainier. If I could make the chick pea hummous better I might try it again. As it is I sorta gave up because I couldn't get favas (and when I did find them they were $2 a can). Fri Aug 11 19:09:56 -0700 2006 10243 jcmods 1 1802466 Try using a blender instead of a processor. You may never go back. Fri Aug 11 19:11:31 -0700 2006 1802458 12383 Nyleve 2 2841709 if you buy quality canned chick peas like Eden, you wont detect much of a difference vs dry beans when preparing hummous. the key is you must take the skin off each and evey chick pea. it takes around 15 minutes, and while tedious makes a huge difference. the result is a hummous that is creamy and delicious. Mon Aug 13 14:19:10 -0700 2007 1802466 12809 josh L 3 4921422 If you run it through a food mill it will seperate the skins. The pureed chickpeas can then be further smoothed in a food pro or blender. Wed Aug 05 19:21:45 -0700 2009 2841709 89493 scubadoo97 1 1802478 Yes; a blender should help. Also, I always include lemon juice, salt, and garlic with the three ingredients you've listed. Fri Aug 11 19:17:10 -0700 2006 1802458 10846 themis 1 1802482 Try loosing the tahini,add olive oil and tons of lemon juice. Fri Aug 11 19:18:45 -0700 2006 1802458 17282 missclaudy 2 1802545 No reason to omit the tahini; if anything, it gives the hummus a smoother texture, not to mention added flavor. (a pinch of cumin is nice, too.) I make hummus in the food processor, using canned chickpeas. To prevent a gritty texture it helps to add liquid - lemon juice, fluid from the chickpea can, olive oil - and don't give up too soon! Keep processing, and the texture should improve. Fri Aug 11 19:42:14 -0700 2006 1802482 14171 Pumpkinseed 2 1803794 I never use tahini and I've been told I make the best hummus in town. Sat Aug 12 12:43:01 -0700 2006 1802482 17282 missclaudy 3 2166135 Don't people miss the sesame flavor the tahini adds? Mon Jan 08 20:19:10 -0800 2007 1803794 11201 Diana 3 4921166 If you never use tahini, you're making bean dip, not hummous bi tahini, the classic Lebanese dish. Wed Aug 05 17:27:59 -0700 2009 1803794 11995 pikawicca 4 4922751 Agreed. Hummous without tahini is not hummous. Thu Aug 06 09:44:31 -0700 2009 4921166 113176 jmckee 5 4923859 Add in a little Sesame Oil and it will be perfect. Thu Aug 06 14:44:43 -0700 2009 4922751 28006 Jennalynn 5 4938814 that's not true, hummus in Arabic means chickpeas so technically it is still hummus, just not hummus bi tahineh (with unroasted sesame paste). There are hummus recipes with yoghurt and also with meat on top and they are still hummus. An un pureed chickpea dish of chickpeas boiled and seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil is also still hummus. Tue Aug 11 23:37:50 -0700 2009 4922751 118120 luckyfatima 2 1831664 I use sesame oil in lieu of tahini and olive oil. Lighter and fantastic. Often throw in a fresh chili if I want a little heat. Fri Aug 25 00:37:53 -0700 2006 1802482 27754 AmandaEd 3 1836118 oooh, nice, i'd never thought of using seasame oil Sun Aug 27 13:16:54 -0700 2006 1831664 11544 mainja 1 1802509 A Lebanese friend of mine taught me to boil the canned beans longer. It help tremendously with the texture. I add water in addition to oil to thin it out. I find that gives a better texture flavor for me. Beans, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and water is what I add. Fri Aug 11 19:29:00 -0700 2006 1802458 15001 jsaimd 2 1802641 A Lebanese friend taught me to make it this way, too, many years ago. Cooking dried beans and using a blender works better than canned beans and a food processor. If you use dried beans, save some of the bean cooking liquid to thin your hummus. If you use canned beans, rinse them thoroughly, drain well, and Ttin your hummus with water. The important thing is to add the liquids a little at a time, tasting as you go, until the hummus is just the way you like it. I like it thick, lemony, with not a lot of garlic. I know people who like it thin, really garlicky, and light on the lemon. I will not get into the subject of people who add cumin, cayenne, etc. Fri Aug 11 20:10:49 -0700 2006 1802509 11995 pikawicca 3 5026304 I did this yesterday and it turned out amazing! I boiled the canned chickpeas for 20 mins. Let them cool. By this time the skins had come off and floated to the top, so I removed those. The best hummus I've ever tried! The texture was light and airy. I also added a little bit of honey to the mix (saw it in a recipe once) and it turned out great. I'm a convert! Sun Sep 13 09:35:58 -0700 2009 1802641 27348 Hondapendragon 1 1802543 I make hummos at home all the time and it's always great! My recipe came from a Lebanese friend. 1 can of garbanzo beans, reserve the juice; juice of 1 lemon, to taste; 1-2 garlic cloves, to taste; 6 T tahini (the more tahini you use, the better the hummos gets :-); salt and evoo to taste. Put the garbanzos with some of the reserved juice in a blender or food processor, add half the lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, and all 6T of tahini and process until smooth. If it's too think, add some of the reserved juice from the can. After processing, taste and adjust with more lemon, garlic or salt. Once the flavor balance is about right, whir in some olive oil to smooth it out at the end. Blend, blend, blend until it's as smooth as you like. Fri Aug 11 19:41:34 -0700 2006 1802458 11028 DanaB 1 1802583 Since there are only a few ingredient, for the best hummus, you have to start with dried garbanzo, a good tahani (some have a bitter after taste), garlic, good olive oil, fresh lemon juice. Soak the garbanzo beans overnight then cook until they are is VERY soft. As stated in the previous post, save a little of the cooking liquid to thin out the hummus. I use a food processor but a blender will give it a smoother texture. Start with the drained garbanzo, some tahini (use some of the oil if it has separated), a little lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Puree until very smooth and adjust the seasoning. Add a little cooking liquid if it is too dry. I like very little lemon juice because I don't think hummus should be too tart. As hummus sits, it will need a little re-seasoning with salt, peppper and lemon juice. Canned garbanzo makes a decent hummus but it has cook some more for a smooth texture. Fri Aug 11 19:53:58 -0700 2006 1802458 10756 PBSF 2 1802814 I think this method is near perfect. I used to work at a place that made great hummus, and I'd always watch it being made, taking tips for myself. Cooking them long enough seemed to be key, and if they hadn't been, sometimes the pureed chickpeas would have to go through a tami in order to get the right consistency. This always resulted in a smooth, delicious puree to which olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, a little toasted cumin and tahini were added. Forcing the puree through the screen of the tami wasn't such hard work, either. Fri Aug 11 21:09:42 -0700 2006 1802583 11225 rabaja 1 1802600 "Hoomoos" means "chickpeas." Use chickpeas. I start with dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, boil until soft, remove the skins (this is a very tedious process... give yourself an hour for a pound of dry beans), then puree in the food processor with good Lebanese tahini, lemon, and salt. Garlic is optional. Fri Aug 11 19:59:01 -0700 2006 1802458 10607 Luther 2 1802891 Removing the skins was what I'd heard makes the difference in the texture. Why does it take so long? Edited to say, I just read further down where the question is answered. Thanks. Fri Aug 11 21:37:24 -0700 2006 1802600 10559 JGrey 3 2839902 My grandmother who was born in Syria, would always remove the skins off chickpeas for her hummus. It does result in a very smooth product which you will never get if you don't skin the chickpeas. I don't, but don't mind the little difference it makes. Restaurants will often use a lot more oil than you would at home which will also make a smoother hummus. Mon Aug 13 07:03:56 -0700 2007 1802891 89493 scubadoo97 1 1802602 The key is that you need to make it with dried garbanzos. They put citric acid into the canned in order to keep them a more firm texture. Unfortunately, this creates a, impossible to cook away, grainy texture. Here's the hummus "recipe": simmer raw chick peas until really soft: maybe an hour and a half - no need to pre-soak. Put in food processor with olive oil, tahini, fresh lemon juice, salt and tahini. If you run out of tahini - for some reason this happens to me periodically, you can cheat with a little peanut butte. Process until smooth. No amounts are really necessary to specify. Everyone has individual taste - maybe you like it more or less oily, or you want to save calories and use less olive oil and more lemon juice, or use liquid from the pot to thin it out - whatever. Just play around until you find your own individual, personal recipe. And pass the matzohs (my favorite dipper) Fri Aug 11 19:59:56 -0700 2006 1802458 23824 niki rothman 2 1804317 Looking around my neighborhood market and basement, I found that four of five brands of canned chickpeas did not list citric acid among the ingredients: Cedar Phoenician, Goya, La Preferida and Ziyad. Cortas does show citric acid. At least in this part of Chicago it is easier to get canned chickpeas without citric acid than with. Sat Aug 12 20:55:08 -0700 2006 1802602 11364 Eldon Kreider 2 1838764 Inspired by your advice and that of others here, after years of making hummus excusively with canned beans, last week I decided to experiment and go the dried-beans route. The soaking and cooking process took some time, of course, but was not in the least demanding or labor intensive, so I have no complaints in that area. It's probably a bit more economical to start with a bag of dried beans, but only marginally so since canned beans are frequently on sale. As for results: I wish I could tell you that starting from scratch made for some kind of amazing hummus epiphany, but I can't say that it made much of a difference. The hummus tasted perfectly fine, but I suspect that in a blind taste test, I wouldn't have been able to distinguish the two. Mon Aug 28 20:22:54 -0700 2006 1802602 14171 Pumpkinseed 1 1802681 I agree dried garbanzos make better hummus, but mostly I can't be bothered. Lots of lemon and I add a little hit of cayenne with garlic and tahini. I suspect you may like the restaurant version better because they add lots of oil and it becomes more of an emulsification. Homemade, less oil, better for you. Fri Aug 11 20:26:36 -0700 2006 1802458 12840 Mila 2 1803154 Really, it's so easy. Don't peel, don't soak - just rinse raw beans & pick over for pebbles. Simmer in plenty of water while you're off doing something else in your home. You aren't going to use the water so just add lots and you won't even have to check on it if it's on a low flame. Come back after an hour and a half - beans are done when they crush very easily against the roof of your mouth. Then put all the ingredients in the processor at once. Better than canned, as good as any restaurant - smooth, delicious, easy. Fri Aug 11 23:27:56 -0700 2006 1802681 23824 niki rothman 1 1802716 Wow! Lots of good tips. I should have said I don't think store bought is as good either...hence, the reason I was hoping to make it myself (since getting to a middle eastern place on the spur of the moment is quite a chore). Fri Aug 11 20:40:17 -0700 2006 1802458 10243 jcmods 1 1802792 I remember an Iraqi friend once told me that she removed the skins of the chick peas before mashing/blending them. I tried it once, but it seemed like too much trouble. Has anyone heard of this? It involved rubbing them gently between your fingers after they were cooked. If you do it in a bowl of water or cooled cooking liquid I think they float to the top. Fri Aug 11 21:02:05 -0700 2006 1802458 14871 maviris 2 1802804 I do hummus this way, posted about it on Chowhound and was loudly told I was an idiot. Nothing daunted, here it is again. After soaking dried chickpeas in plenty of water for several hours, heat to a simmer and cook until soft. Allow to cool, remove skins. I find some will slip off easily, others have to be peeled. It takes a LONG time. But it makes a butter-smooth puree which I find worth the effort. Proceed with tahini, lemon, garlic, salt, olive oil etc. I'm sure this is not the way restaurants make it, but I prefer my own version to commercial hummus so I'm sticking with it. I can link the original recipe if anyone wants it. Fri Aug 11 21:06:33 -0700 2006 1802792 12335 cheryl_h 3 1803079 Peeling certainly makes sense if you have the patience! I imagine forcing the cooked beans through a tamis, as mentioned in posts above, would also leave the skins behind and be quicker. I wonder if my potato ricer would work? Fri Aug 11 22:58:10 -0700 2006 1802804 14871 maviris 4 1803304 I don't know about the ricer, but maybe a food mill? Sat Aug 12 00:51:11 -0700 2006 1803079 11995 pikawicca 1 1802897 You might want to try using fresh squeezed lime juice instead of lemon juice in your hummus; an Egyptian guy in my ski club insists that makes all the difference. Fri Aug 11 21:40:22 -0700 2006 1802458 10626 phoenikia 1 1802982 I love substituting toasted sesamie oil for the tahini.. helps with a creamier texture and more complex sesamie flavor. Fri Aug 11 22:13:50 -0700 2006 1802458 25203 nothingman 1 1803185 Yep, the big difference for me was a few tablespoons of warm water. This helps to achieve the right consistancy. Also, some roasted red peppers (out of the jar) add great flavor, and now you have a Roasted Red Pepper Hummous! TT Fri Aug 11 23:41:55 -0700 2006 1802458 19247 TexasToast 1 1803411 I think some people underestimate the amount of lemon juice (or other liquid) that is necessary to get a good consistency. Personally, I don't usually use olive oil at all in my hummus, though I have added a splash at presentation time. There is also a great variety between canned chickpeas. Personally, I like the ones that are lighter in color and larger, as opposed to the smaller, heavier chick peas. For my money, working with the dried ones, peeled or not, isn't worth the time or bother. BTW, I started making my own when I moved to a place where the only commercially made hummus had cumin in it. *shudder* Sat Aug 12 01:58:21 -0700 2006 1802458 24089 teamkitty 2 4922414 / Thu Aug 06 08:08:38 -0700 2009 1803411 257067 General Knowledge 1 1804018 I've also used some silken tofu to add a silky, creamy texture to the hummus without the extra oil. It adds great protein, too. Sat Aug 12 16:31:36 -0700 2006 1802458 12943 Sarah McC 2 1804590 That's my secret too. OK, it's not authentic - but is it ever tasty! Sun Aug 13 00:31:45 -0700 2006 1804018 10681 piccola 3 4924522 and healthful! Thu Aug 06 18:42:55 -0700 2009 1804590 11935 westsidegal 1 1804605 Okay, this week I'm going to soak some dried chick peas, slough off the skins and make hummus. I'll also try using a food mill to get rid of the skins. Will report back. Sun Aug 13 00:44:33 -0700 2006 1802458 11995 pikawicca 1 1807011 Hummus update. I had to make a huge batch of hummus today for an event, so I thought this would be the ideal moment to give a report. I used 3 cans of chick peas. Two of the cans were a cheap store brand (Our Compliments - IGA brand). One was a name brand (Unico). The Our Compliments chick peas were softer and larger. The Unico were still tender but a bit firmer than the other ones. In the future I'd use the Our Compliments chick peas for hummus. Drained the chick peas and dumped them into the blender. (Reserved the liquid.) Add to the blender 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup tahini, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt and a bit of black pepper. I also added nearly 1/2 cup of the chick pea liquid. (You might want to start with 1/4 cup and increase to taste.) Buzz the whole mess on high speed, scraping down the sides so that it mixes evenly, for much longer than you think is necessary. Long blending makes a smooth hummus. Anyway - the hummus turned out extremely smooth and creamy. Almost as smooth as plain tahini - not the least bit gritty at all. I think that the blender does a far better job than a food processor; I think that you have to blend for a very long time; and I think that most people underestimate how much liquid should be added to the mixture. The result should be the thickness of sour cream - no thicker. I did not use mayonnaise, yogurt, olive oil, tofu or anything else - not needed. I did not add any spices beyond the salt, pepper and garlic. On serving, I will spread the hummus on a flat platter, surround with olives and drizzle with olive oil. Over and out. Mon Aug 14 17:50:50 -0700 2006 1802458 12383 Nyleve 2 1809019 After much experimentation, I've found that Cedarvale brand makes good hummus. Canada only probably. Tue Aug 15 14:41:54 -0700 2006 1807011 12840 Mila 1 1810474 I've found that using roasted tahini instead of raw really enhances the flavor - it never tastes flat anymore! Tue Aug 15 22:42:34 -0700 2006 1802458 12133 JessWil 2 4924526 completely concur. tremendously better. Thu Aug 06 18:43:54 -0700 2009 1810474 11935 westsidegal 1 1815989 Agree big time! I couldn't understand why it took Way too much tahini to balance the lemon juice - don't need 3000+ tasteless calories :=(. BTW per previous posts Maranatha and Joyva seem to be the preferred brands, but Definitely look for 'toasted sesame' on the label. Other hints to add a little water and to remove 'husks' result in a light, smooth, creamy hummus. Fri Aug 18 00:22:42 -0700 2006 1802458 23712 DiveFan 1 1816815 My homemade hummus is better than any restaurant's. I'm with Nyleve - no olive oil in the hummus. My recipe comes from an old cookbook - "Recipes for an Arabian Night" - 2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, juice of 2 lemons, 3/4 cup tahini, 3 cloves garlic through garlic press, salt to taste - all in a blender with a bit of water - enough to blend. I drizzle a little olive oil on top of finished hummus and sprinkle a little paprika. Looks cool. Everyone loves it. Fri Aug 18 13:39:33 -0700 2006 1802458 26542 suse 2 1831442 I heartily agree with the no-olive-oil crowd. I used to blend it in, but I found that the flavor just covers up the beans and tahini. A bit for garnish when it's done perhaps, but not blended it. Otherwise, use lots of tahini (I used to be stingy, but have learned that the more the better). It isn't hummus without tahini, imo. I use dried beans if I have the time, but I often make hummus as a last-minute thing so frequently use canned. The only brand that is worth using, imo, is S&W. I don't know how widely available it is, but it's worth using if you find it. It's the only brand that doesn't taste flat out gross of the many, many I have tried. So anyway, I start with the beans, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and tahini. I actually use the bean liquid (from the pot or can) to thin to the desired consistency. On occasion, I will also add chipotle to the hummus. It's not authentic in any way, but it is a match made in heaven. -Nick Thu Aug 24 22:44:43 -0700 2006 1816815 10343 nja 1 1830862 If you're really striving to make top-notch, there's a big difference between the canned and dried chickpeas. Peeling helps too. Also, some more labour-intensive tips I dug up (keep in mind they're using equal amounts of lemon juice and tahini - 1/2 cup each to 3 cups of dried garbanzo): In a mortar, pound the garlic with 1 tablespoon salt until it is a creamy mush. In a small bowl, beat the tahini and lemon juice together slowly. If it is too thick, add water--never more lemon juice. Stir the tahini-and-lemon juice mixture into the garlic and salt. Stir this mixture into the chickpea puree, adjust the salt, and season with pepper. Check the consistency; if it is too thick, like an oatmeal, then add some of the remaining reserved chick-pea cooking water until it is smoother, like a Cream of Wheat. Check the taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If you do need to adjust the taste, the process must be repeated--in other words, mash some more garlic with salt or mix a tablespoon of tahini with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Thu Aug 24 19:40:26 -0700 2006 1802458 14419 Chester Eleganté 2 4938906 I’m curious, can I make hummous in a Thai granite mortar and pestle? Will the chickpeas actually turn into a good consistence for the dip? I don’t really see the point of buying a bigish food processor only to make this dip. I do own an immersion blender with a 1 cup processor so I could use that if need be. Wed Aug 12 03:02:17 -0700 2009 1830862 222454 snax 3 4940010 I think the mortar and pestle would take a lot of work to get it smooth enough. However the blender, just in bowl without the 1 cup attachment would work fine. Wed Aug 12 10:15:32 -0700 2009 4938906 28006 Jennalynn 1 1831342 You've gotten a ton of good responses... I'll just add my little "trick". Try a bit of sesame oil, and process the hell out of it. If it's grainy, keep adding a bit of oil or even a touch of water... and let the processor go on and on. Canned chickpeas work fine for me. Thu Aug 24 21:59:30 -0700 2006 1802458 28006 Jennalynn 2 1833023 I use a recipe from the first Chez Piggy cookbook (as adapted). I use about a 1/4 cup of the liquid from the canned chickpeas in the hummus. These days I toast my own sesame seeds and grind in a mortar, then add toasted sesame oil. I started doing that when I just didn't have tahini in the house - I like the result. Fri Aug 25 17:30:00 -0700 2006 1831342 22463 HenryT 1 1835638 I have just come back from Jerusalem, home to some of the most amazing hummous that I have ever tasted in my life. The best hummous I have ever had was at a place deep in East Jerusalem called "Abu Shukri's" Of course people will fight about which place has the best hummous in town, but as one of my friends put it, There's good hummous and then there's major league. and all of the major league places are in most ways exeptional. This is what makes hummous major league: The best hummous is made in places that make only that. Often they make a huge pot in morning and close when it runs out They all use a lot of tahini but sparing on the lemon and garlic. It should be a subtle addition. People often mistake in North America that make much more of a thick chick-peay and super garliky concoction On the contrary, hummous is light because it's whipped with tahini and the chickpea cooking liquid. with lemon and garlic in the background Then the most important: The hummous is served warm, sometimes with hot soft chickpeas in the middle or foule It is spread on the plate in such a way as to create a kind of moat around the edge. a canal , if you will, created by running a spoon around the edge, that is drizzled with olive oil. and very good quality olive oil to top it all off, the edges sprinkled with roasted pine nuts. (you can get it plain as well) a stack of 2-3 pitas (if you are lucky also warm and fresh) is stacked in front of you with a plate of pickles, raw onion to use as a dipping vegetable and a small bowl (like a soya bowl) with a kind of lemon-hot pepper herb sauce. It's absolute heaven. Sun Aug 27 01:10:43 -0700 2006 1802458 28803 jomo 1 1835809 You are right. Nothing beats the hummus in East Jerusalem. Sun Aug 27 04:20:35 -0700 2006 1802458 12943 Sarah McC 1 1836120 i've noticed that there are a couple (read: 8 billion) different kinds of hummus (including different spellings)... the hummus you get in, for example, a greek restaurant, is very different than the one you would get in a lebanese restaurant. it sounds to me like the one you're looking for is a "lebanese restaurant type". personally i prefer the greek restaurant one, but i think one of the tricks to the "lebanese restaurant kind" (in the ones i've been to anyway), just judging by flavours, is lots of tahina, not a ton of garlic, a bit of lemon, but again not too much, and blend the crap out of it so you get a very very smooth paste. my version of the "greek resto kind" (which is more grainy and more garlicy) has the standard chickpeas, garlic, lemon (lots), tahina, cumin (which i think is standard, but maybe not), fresh ground pepper, and then then not so standard, but absolutely amazing, dill pickle. i just add in a dill pickle when i'm making it. soooo good. and not pickley at all, just delicious. yum yum. Sun Aug 27 13:27:21 -0700 2006 1802458 11544 mainja 1 2002248 Removing the skins really does make a huge difference. If you cook your canned beans and let them cool, you can just pop the each chick pea from the skin with minimal effort. It probably took about 15 minutes to do a 15 oz can. You don't have to start with dried beans. But you should cook the canned beans first. I had always been disappointed that I could not achieve that wonderful creamy restaurant texture as well(it was very good, but not quite "it")...removing the skins, I made the creamiest, lightest hummus ever, and it only required small amounts (about 2 tbsp each) of tahini and olive oil(you can add more if you like a stronger taste). No matter how long you blend, you never get the same texture with the skins on. I'd tried adding more liquid, more tahini, more olive oil, and none of those things was the secret. Also, the Lebanese places that I have been to do not use garlic or cumin or the other things that we tend to add here...only lemon juice and salt (and tahini and olive oil). I've realized that I do not like Americanized "hummus" at all, and most recipes that are floating around or the stuff you get in stores is just that... I'm sure that in the restaurants, they use another method to de-skin the chickpeas...but that has to be their secret. I brought some home to do a side by side comparison, and I've finally matched it. If you are ever in Detroit, try out the hummus at La Shish...served just as was mentioned before, with pine nuts and olive oil. Love it with lamb shawarma... Tue Nov 07 03:16:16 -0800 2006 1802458 51571 nicthommi 1 2002285 in addition to garlic, tahini, lemon juice, what is essential, to me, is ground TOASTED cumin, and Red Aleppo Pepper(very distinct armenian spice that makes all the difference in the world.) Tue Nov 07 03:31:03 -0800 2006 1802458 10110 opinionatedchef 2 4938819 Use of the Aleppo pepper is characteristic to Aleppo and the surrounding area in Northern Syria...known for having a spicier cuisine in that region. It is not specifically Armenian. Tue Aug 11 23:44:22 -0700 2009 2002285 118120 luckyfatima 3 5008133 many armenians migrated to syria/lebanon and those had a cuisine which used the local products- also there are some fermented turkish peppers very similar to aleppo which can be used in armenian food - I think OC is using the word generically to mean that type of full flavored not too spicy chile which is in use broadly in the region Sat Sep 05 18:11:07 -0700 2009 4938819 11130 jen kalb 1 2007621 I don't put olive oil in it but instead serve it ON it. http://www.rockhoppertech.com/gene/recipes/hummus/ Thu Nov 09 02:26:45 -0800 2006 1802458 50674 rockhopper 1 2153591 While visiting my parents over the holidays, I tried making hummus for them. However, I wasn't using a recipe -- just improvising. I soaked some dry chickpeas overnight, skinned them, and then simmered them for a long time. They required several hours of simmering to become nice and soft (easy to eat -- no toughness, no "crunch"). The first batch of hummus to go through the blender came out wonderfully, but the second batch (from the same pot of reconstituted and long-simmered chickpeas) was much more difficult and the blender was struggling terribly with it, even though I'm fairly sure I was using the same ratio of chickpeas to tahini to water to olive oil to garlic cloves. Or a similar ratio. Maybe even more water than the first time. The second batch was grainier and a smidgen more bland-tasting and not as good, even though I added the juice of a lime. Another later attempt produced really terrible watery hummus -- I had to add too much water (I used the water that the chickpeas had been simmered in) to get it to blend, on top of the juice of a lime or two. That blender is probably five or six years old, and an off-brand. Too old? A crummy blender? I want to get a blender for myself to use for making hummus -- should I look for a particular brand? Do stores sell "heavy-duty" blenders? Or maybe I was doing something wrong. I mean, besides not using a recipe. Maybe the latter attempts needed more tahini. Prob. not, though, since there's been no other mentions in this thread of having trouble with blenders, despite all the differing opinions as to whether or not to use tahini, and how much, and whether or not to use olive oil, lime juice, etc. (I prefer to avoid lemon juice entirely since I'm just ever-so-slightly allergic to lemons, though small amounts don't usually bother me.) Thu Jan 04 20:37:54 -0800 2007 1802458 12799 Ike 2 2154986 Hummus Blending Tricks All nut butters are dry particles suspended in fat. When any form of moisture hits them, they swell and the nut butter thickens/seizes (chocolate is the same way). Tahini thickens hummus tremendously by this seizing action, and makes it a LOT harder to blend without adding a ton of water. Add to this the fact that the tahini you purchase is already perfectly smooth, and you have no reason whatsoever to blend the tahini. Blend the other ingredients, pour them out of the blender, then mix in the tahini by hand. You'll never have watery hummus or blending problems again. Hot foods are generally less viscous than cold. If cooking your own chickpeas, use them shortly after cooking while they are still hot. If your chickpeas are cold or room temp, heat both the chickpeas and the water/cooking liquid before you blend them. Not boiling hot (that could liquefy the lubricant in your blender blade) but just very warm. Raw garlic and lemon juice shouldn't be heated, so add them much later in the game (use a garlic press)- after the chickpea/cooking liquid/olive oil(if using) mixture has been blended and combined with the hummus and allowed to chill for a bit. Old cheap blenders are not the end of the world. A narrow carafe helps to create a vortex. Wide carafes make blending more difficult. Quantity is important is a well. With many blenders, if you add too little or too much food, they don't blend well. If you're making a lot of hummus, try two batches rather than overfilling the blender. Most blenders seem to be happy with the food about one third to halfway up the carafe. So, to sum everything up. Hot chickpeas/hot cooking liquid. Strain the chickpeas and save the liquid. Add the chickpeas and olive oil to the blender and add just enough liquid to get them to blend. Transfer from blender to a bowl and let them cool briefly. Stir in tahini. Chill in the fridge for about 1 hour, then add lemon juice and garlic, mixing well. Chill overnight for flavors to fully develop. When stirring in the lemon juice and garlic the hummus will still be slightly warm/close to room temp, so it won't be incredibly thick, but after chilling overnight it will thicken very nicely. I've had a blender hummus or two that needed a little extra water the next day to make is spreadable. If you do everything right, it will be too thick and require more water. Adding water is always feasible. Removing water is not. --------------- Lime juice is a bit of stretch for hummus. How allergic are you to lemons? I guess if lemons are that iffy for you, maybe you could get away with half lemon half lime, but ideally, hummus should be lemons. Can you tolerate citric acid? That might be an option in very small amounts. And, use a recipe. Most of the ingredients in this are good when a certain amount is used, but when you stray from that, the hummus can suffer. Some people love raw garlic, but, for the rest of us, the parameters for acceptable raw garlic quantities are pretty tight. Tahini has a little more flexibility, but you can definitely underdo it as well as overdo it. Lemon juice- same thing. Start with a recipe, tweak it to your own preferences and then stick with it. Fri Jan 05 03:12:15 -0800 2007 2153591 13805 scott123 3 2165827 Thanks greatly for the advice. I should realized that tahini is too thick for some blenders to handle. And yeah, there's no reason to put tahini in the blender since it's already smooth as silk and can be mixed in easily by hand afterwards. Ah, so I had the batch amounts right. That's good to know. The tahini was the trouble. And my lack of a recipe. I should've just grabbed one from the above posts. However, I must respectfully disagree with you about lemon juice. I may be unorthodox (by the standards of your nationality or tradition anyway), but in my opinion, lemon juice is not necessary. I've had hummus both with and without lemon juice, and personally, I prefer it *without*, or used in very, very, very sparing amounts (per Jomo above). And some people prefer lime juice, as Phoenikia's post above points out. Citric acid is out, because I strongly suspect that it is the citric acid *itself* to which I am allergic, as oranges also cause me problems sometimes. Limes contain far less citric acid, and I prefer their taste, too. Your rendition of hummus involves adding the garlic afterwards? Really? I would think it would be better in the blender with the chickpeas and thus more thoroughly spread throughout the hummus, rather than in little pieces. I wouldn't think a few cloves would cause the blender any trouble compared to tahini. I (and my parents) tolerate high levels of raw garlic. I was using three to five small-to-medium-sized cloves per batch, and the batches weren't big either. Still couldn't taste it in the end. In my opinion it could've used more. Mon Jan 08 19:13:41 -0800 2007 2154986 12799 Ike 4 2168396 Lemon juice is a traditional ingredient in hummus. I've never seen a traditional recipe without it. I tend to place a certain amount of stock in history as well as the opinion of the masses. If, for hundreds of years, millions of people have been enjoying lemon juice based hummus... it could be that lemon juice makes a better tasting end product. That being said, it really boils down to personal taste. If you want to be innovative and make it without lemon juice (or with very little) go for it. Keep in mind, though, that if you make hummus for someone who's eaten a lot of traditional hummus, it may taste different to them. Not necessarily good or bad, just different. If you blend the garlic with the hot chickpeas, it could end up cooking it. Unless you're doing something like a roasted garlic hummus, the garlic in hummus should always be raw. It's rawness of the garlic that gives you the freshness/vibrancy of flavor. The taste of garlic is mellowed tremendously by heat. If you wanted to work with room temp chickpeas, they'd require more water to blend/create a looser hummus, but you could blend the garlic with them. A looser hummus gets a little risky, though. The process I outlined earlier, when done right, creates a chilled hummus that's so thick, when you stick a knife in it, the knife stands straight up. I tend to err on the side of thick hummus rather than thin. Nothing is worse than soupy hummus. From the people I've talked to, garlic content in hummus seems to run the gamut. I believe that particular nationalities might have varying tastes as to the amount of garlic they use. At least, that's my theory. The bulk of my hummus exposure has been with Egyptian families. These families have tended to like the garlic in their hummus on the mild side and the garlic in their babaganouj, incendiary. This is my philosophy as well. Excessive amounts of garlic, for me, are far more complimentary with eggplant than they are with chickpeas. Since I usually serve baba and hummus at the same meal, the variety of the mild garlic hummus and the in your face garlic baba works beautifully. Tue Jan 09 06:49:33 -0800 2007 2165827 13805 scott123 1 2154891 I make hummus in a food processor using the sharp blade. It gets very smooth. I'm an extra-garlic, extra-lemon-juice kind of guy. The presentation makes a difference. Put the hummus in a 10" oval plate and push most of it to mound around the edges. Sprinkle separate areas around the edges with paprika and cumin. Pour a tablespoon of fragrant olive oil along the center of the plate, add some black and green kalamata olives and sprinkle a little chopped parsley or perhaps cilantro around. Serve with well heated pita. Fri Jan 05 02:25:30 -0800 2007 1802458 10539 KRS 1 2158843 I boiled canned chickpeas with baking soda, then rinsed thoroughly before blending. Super creamy. Sat Jan 06 03:25:43 -0800 2007 1802458 10681 piccola 2 2167472 I forgot to add that you should blend it for much longer than seems appropriate. Think minutes, not seconds. Time yourself if you have to. Tue Jan 09 01:03:19 -0800 2007 2158843 10681 piccola 1 2168015 My trick is to add a little strained yogurt while blending -- it adds good tang and flavor -- along with the tahini, garlic, lemon, and a dash of olive oil. I often throw some paprika into the mix, and a little chipotle powder; not authentic, but tasty. Top with zatar and a drizzle of great olive oil. Yum! Tue Jan 09 03:48:31 -0800 2007 1802458 47694 litchick 2 2176801 A friend brought a hummus with just a little wasabi in it. It was just slightly green, very, very mildly "warm", and quite pleasant. [Bragging: I was the one who could guess the "secret ingredient".] Thu Jan 11 14:11:56 -0800 2007 2168015 22463 HenryT 1 2173166 just wanted to say thanks...this thread inspired me to go home and make hummus and it was fantastic!!! yum. Wed Jan 10 16:21:08 -0800 2007 1802458 57801 lollya 1 2173386 The recipe my daughter uses out of one of the Aussie Women's Weekly cookbook has a little buttermilk in it, makes it very smooth. Wed Jan 10 17:13:12 -0800 2007 1802458 46177 rexmo 1 2173398 IMO = Use a heck of a lot of garlic, more olive oil then you think, a bit of paprika and a touch of parsley and make sure the chickpeas are cooked through!! Finish with a bit of fresh lemon juice and you should be good... Wed Jan 10 17:16:29 -0800 2007 1802458 22477 jbyoga 1 2839747 My homemade hummous is head and shoulders above what I can get at the local restaurants or the grocery store. I like a bit of texture, so I use a food processor. You could use a blender to get a finer grind, and add more tahini to get a pasty texture. I used canned beans. Save some of the broth when draining the can. It is possible to have too much garlic. I speak from experience :-) I use 2 large cloves chopped per pound of chickpeas. Add 2 tbsp of tahini, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, and some cayenne and ground black pepper. The trick to getting a nice creamy texture is to grind the peas first, add the other ingredients, then leave the processor running while drizzling in the reserved broth. You can make it as pasty or runny as you like, depending on how much broth is added. I like mine in the middle, creamy enough to scoop up with some fresh pita. I've made it with a blender, and with mortar and pestle, but the processor gives me the best texture. I use lots less oil than some recipes call for, to make it lighter. Oil can always be added. Favas are too mealy to make a decent hummous. Use the basic 5 ingredients - chickpeas, garlic, oil, tahini, lemon, cayenne - then experiment till you get what you like. Bedouins have been doing it for thousands of years, so don't give up too soon. Don't be afraid to experiment either. I've had good results adding either black olives or roasted peppers. Chopping things first before putting in the processor will give you a finer texture. I'm gonna go have some now! G Mon Aug 13 06:09:00 -0700 2007 1802458 118833 glennfragment 1 4921042 i know this is two years ago, almost exactly since this was posted, however this recipe mentions something that other people (at least in the past year have not) i have never thought about the order of stuff nor the processes of the food involved. give it a try... Recipe submitted by trisa (http://vegweb.com/index.php?action=profile;u=75367), 08/12/07 Creamy Hummus, Restaurant Style Ingredients (use vegan versions (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15403.0)): 1 can chickpeas 1/4 cup tahini (from roasted seeds) 1/4 cup lemon juice (not from concentrate) 4 or 5 cloves of garlic salt olive oil parsley ground cumin water Directions: The secret to good hummus, and the difference between hummus and chickpea mash, is to understand what is really going on with the tahini. What is milk? Milk is generally an emulsion of protein and fat in a water-based liquid. An emulsion is when you mix one liquid into another that don't generally mix, like oil and water when you make salad dressing. They're not dissolving into each other, but the little molecules of one are suspended in the other. For dairy milk, it's an emulsion of animal protein, fats, lactose, etc. For soy milk and nut milk, it's the same thing, but now it's nut proteins and oils. But in all cases, the emulsion is where the creaminess comes from in "milk". If you have less water, you call it cream (either dairy cream or nut creams). Tahini is sesame butter, and to make creamy hummus, the secret is to first turn that into sesame cream! To do that, you need to emulsify the tahini in a water based liquid first. This will NOT happen if you just put everything into a food processor all at once! OK, so with that background, first put the tahini and lemon juice into a blender (I use an immersion blender) and blend away until it's frothy, white, and creamy. You can substitute a little water for lemon juice... experiment. This is your sesame cream! (If you added a lot more water and blended well enough, you'd get sesame milk.) Now mince the garlic and blend it into the cream, and add some salt to taste. This is a basic tahini cream sauce that's actually really good on its own! Now open the can of chickpeas, drain, and rinse them off in a strainer. Whenever using canned beans (except for black beans) it's good to rinse, since it removes the canned-beanie taste. Take a handful of chickpeas and blend it into the sesame cream until smooth. Continue to blend in chickpeas a little at a time until the cream has thickened, but isn't too thick and is still pale (not the deep yellow of the usual chickpea mash). Add salt to taste. You won't use all the chickpeas... much less than in many hummus recipes. For the above, I usually use about half of a 24 oz can's worth. Scoop the hummus onto a plate, put a few whole chickpeas on top, drizzle good olive oil over it, and sprinkle some parsley and/or cumin on top if you like. That's it! It's best if served at room temperature or slightly warmer. Wed Aug 05 16:38:22 -0700 2009 1802458 180188 makutamonster 2 4921071 Wewlcome to CH! After skimming through the thread I think the real "secret" is that many here were not using any water. If you don't thin with water you wind up using excessive oil or lemon and the end product is not balanced. Hopefully no one goes off the deep end for posting in a two year old thread! LOL Wed Aug 05 16:48:49 -0700 2009 4921042 253154 Fritter 1 4925522 the formula I use (I think originally from Claudia Roden) stafts with blending the tahina (seeds and oil) with water/lemon juice til you get a white creamy emulsion - thats the tahina. You wont have a good creamy hummus until you start with this step. You can then add the fresh garlic, chickpeas, salt etc to the mix. You particularly need a significant amount of fresh lemon juice . I think olive oil is more of a garnish than an ingredient to the dish - the sesame paste provides most of the oil content. a few handfuls of parsley and a bit of cumin are also good additions as iare a aleppo pepper or good paprika. Fri Aug 07 07:15:02 -0700 2009 1802458 11130 jen kalb 2 4933733 this is the best hummus i've ever had... http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/recipe_id/735/ Mon Aug 10 12:16:32 -0700 2009 4925522 12809 josh L 1 4937716 I disagree with those who say you must use dried beans or take the skins off the canned beans. I do agree that the addition of a little garlic, a good deal of of lemon juice and salt make the finished product taste better. I had the same texture problem as you the first few times I made it at home until I saw a cooking program where the chef emphasized the necessity of letting the food processor run for a long time - it whips more air and makes the hummus much smoother. I let mine got for several minutes and it comes out great. Good luck. Tue Aug 11 15:06:31 -0700 2009 1802458 1095284 san antonio eater 2 4937835 When using can beans I run my food pro for a long time. My Grandmother from Syria would remove all the skins when making hers. We all have different standards. I don't mind skins in my hummus, assuming they are blended well, but she would have had a problem with it. Tue Aug 11 15:48:30 -0700 2009 4937716 89493 scubadoo97 3 4940817 Yeah, your grandmother sounds alot like my mother (albeit my mom is Mexcan-American, not Syrian) She always cooks from scratch too. I have found that I am just too lazy to cook dried beans or to remove the skins. I think the canned organic beans I used last time (from Central Market) didn't have any skins on them. I love hummus (and probably would have REALLY loved your grandmother's) and know that I just won't make it at home unless I can make it a little more convenient. My philosophy is that even a simplified recipe that you make at home will turn out far better than 99% of what you get in the grocery store. San Antonio used to have an excellent Lebanese restaurant that made killer hummus but it is no more. I miss it. they made great tabouli too. Wed Aug 12 13:54:44 -0700 2009 4937835 1095284 san antonio eater 1 5007651 In the search for perfect hummus, I've read this entire 3 year old post. Here's my homemade addition: 1 Can of top quality Garbanzos, drained. 1/2 teaspoon Cumin. Dash or two of cayenne pepper. 2 tablespoons good quality EVOO. 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt. Puree` in blender or food processor until thick paste. In a separate cup, mix 1/4 cup water & 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Add to garbanzo paste and continue blending. Mix 6 tablespoons good quality tahini with 2 tablespoons EVOO. THEN...THE CHEAT...add 2-3 tablespoons HALF & HALF!! Mix with the tahini well and blend into hummos. Blend for a long time. Taste...Adjust seasonings...ENJOY!! Sat Sep 05 13:13:37 -0700 2009 1802458 19862 mssreatalot 2 5007988 I hope its not bad to piggyback on this thread but I'm also having a hummus problem. I was trying to make a version of the Trader Joe's Cilantro Jalapeno hummus. I followed a recipe on the web and it just doesn't have the depth of flavor in the bought version. I don't care so much about the creaminess,(or is the flavor part of the creaminess?): 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans/chick peas (drained and rinsed, with 2 oz reserved liquid) 2 tbsp tahini 2 cloves garlic 1 tbls lemon juice 1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves 2 tbsp lime juice salt to taste 1-2 tablespoons cooking water* The recipe called for cooking canned chickpeas. I removed the skins from the Goya chickpeas and used Joyva tahini. I ended up adding some more chickpeas, some roasted sesame oil and more salt, but it definitely still tastes a little flat. From these boards, it looks like I needed a bit more tahini and perhaps should have used all lemon juice--any other suggestions? I haven't replaced my blender yet. Sat Sep 05 16:53:27 -0700 2009 5007651 175615 oya 1 5025443 The best hummus recipe I've tried at home was Nigella Lawson's recipe from her "How to Eat" cookbook. Her "secret" is to start with dried chickpeas, and to tenderize them by soaking them for 24-36 hours in a large amount of water to which a runny paste made with of 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp salt and a bit of water are added. Once they've soaked for the required amount of time, drain and rinse them, then cover and cook for 1.5-4 hours over low heat until they are very soft. She says not to lift the lid on the pot for the first hour at all or the peas will harden. Her recipe also says to save 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid to use to thin the hummus when you blend it. (You usually end up only using about 1/4 cup of the water; I think she says to save that much in case certain processors/blenders end up needing more liquid to blend a smooth batch of hummus.) Her other secret is to add a few tablespoons of greek yogurt to the mixture of the cooked peas, tahini, lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil at the end of the blending process. She says this helps replicate the "whipped" consistency of restaurant-style hummus and prevents the "claggy" texture homemade hummus tends to take on once refrigerated. I know this is untraditional, but it's worked for me! Sat Sep 12 18:05:54 -0700 2009 1802458 1098499 ACCritic 2 5028082 i don't really like cummin with traditional hummus. i think that the cummin really takes away from the true "taste" of hummus, and i see it more as a variation on a theme. personally, its a variation that I don't like to visit. my two cents: add lemon zest. it helps with the flavour. not much, just some. also, the tastiest way to serve hummous is a hot variation called masabacha. had it at Abu Hassan in Tel Aviv/Jaffa and once you have it, you will want to mix it in with your regular hummus preparations. masabacha has more lemon juice to it (so add another 1/2 to whole lemon to the recipe) and is more aqueous as well - so more liquid from when you cook the chick peas. in the end, it has a more citric and creamy taste to it, plus its served hot (and best made if you slow-cook the chickpeas and use them while they are still hot). Mon Sep 14 06:56:29 -0700 2009 5025443 120740 atomeyes 1 5103760 And I am always wondering why anyone would a) buy hummus in a package b) choose not to make it at home and go to restaurants. There are some comical posts on this one. Hummus without tahini?? And people say it is great? Which people? What do they know about hummus? Yes, there are chick pea dips minus tahini but they aren't really what we're talking about. A couple tips: if using canned chick peas wash them a lot before using them. Second, grind your cumin fresh. Wed Oct 14 17:21:13 -0700 2009 1802458 15114 epop 2 5103848 Third, don't add cumin! Wed Oct 14 17:59:33 -0700 2009 5103760 11995 pikawicca 3 5104378 At least concede that this is debatable. Wed Oct 14 22:32:59 -0700 2009 5103848 15114 epop