Chiff and Fipple Forums

If you live near a Costco and are too lazy to make your own, try their hummus. The brand is called "Sabra". It's very good.

I'm with Rob on cooking dried chickpeas instead of using the canned variety. There is a world of difference in the flavor and texture of canned chickpeas and freshly cooked dried chickpeas, plus you can use the cooking liquid in soup stock and other recipes.

You can soak them overnight but that reduces the cooking time only by 30 minutes or so. You don't really need to soak them but they'll take a couple of hours to cook soft enough to make good hummus, unless you use a pressure cooker. The older the beans, the longer they'll take to soften.

The other thing that can make a big difference in the success of hummus is roasting the garlic. Most people put too much raw garlic in their hummus, so garlic ends up being the main thing you taste, masking the wonderful flavor of the chickpeas and tahini. To help their flavor come through, I usually roast my garlic first if I have time (you can do it while the chickpeas cook). You can roast it in the oven or just put the cloves in their skins on a cast-iron skillet on medium-low heat for 45 minutes or so, turning them occasionally until they're browned all over. Then you just squeeze them and the roasted cloves pop out, all soft and mild, with a hint of smokiness.

Finally, when you serve the hummus, pour a little olive oil on top and dust it with fresh-ground cumin or a few toasted cumin seeds. That's fantastic.

Them's my two cents on hummus. So there.

bradhurley wrote:I'm with Rob on cooking dried chickpeas instead of using the canned variety. There is a world of difference in the flavor and texture of canned chickpeas and freshly cooked dried chickpeas, plus you can use the cooking liquid in soup stock and other recipes.

You can soak them overnight but that reduces the cooking time only by 30 minutes or so. You don't really need to soak them but they'll take a couple of hours to cook soft enough to make good hummus, unless you use a pressure cooker. The older the beans, the longer they'll take to soften.

The other thing that can make a big difference in the success of hummus is roasting the garlic. Most people put too much raw garlic in their hummus, so garlic ends up being the main thing you taste, masking the wonderful flavor of the chickpeas and tahini. To help their flavor come through, I usually roast my garlic first if I have time (you can do it while the chickpeas cook). You can roast it in the oven or just put the cloves in their skins on a cast-iron skillet on medium-low heat for 45 minutes or so, turning them occasionally until they're browned all over. Then you just squeeze them and the roasted cloves pop out, all soft and mild, with a hint of smokiness.

Finally, when you serve the hummus, pour a little olive oil on top and dust it with fresh-ground cumin or a few toasted cumin seeds. That's fantastic.

Them's my two cents on hummus. So there.

Excellent tips. Going for it this weekend.

Dale wrote:Going for it this weekend.

You, my friend, are out of control.

It's "International Food Day" today
at work. In our breakroom, inside a clay
pot sits homemade hummus! And I say,
they used way too much Tahini.

Aaronjw wrote:If you live near a Costco and are too lazy to make your own, try their hummus. The brand is called "Sabra". It's very good.

Yup.

I started buying it after a recommendation from an Israeli friend - he told me that it was good enough that he never bothered to make his own any more. And that "Sabra" is the most popular brand of hummus in Israel.

Don't know about that claim. But it's awfully good.