Wikipedia

Hummus

This article is about the food. For the organic matter in soil, see Humus. For other uses, see Hummus (disambiguation).
"Homos" redirects here. For the Egyptian footballer, see Homos (footballer).

Hummus (/ˈhʊməs/, /ˈhʌməs/;[1][2] Arabic: حُمُّص ḥummuṣ, 'chickpeas', Hebrew: חומוס ḥummus), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.[3] The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.[4][5]

Hummus
Alternative namesMsabaha
CourseMeze
Place of originMiddle East
Region or stateEgypt and Levant
Serving temperatureRoom temperature or warm
Main ingredientsChickpeas, tahini

The earliest mention of hummus was in a 13th century cookbook attributed to the Aleppine historian Ibn al-Adim from present-day Syria.[6]

Commonly consumed in Middle Eastern cuisine, it is usually eaten as a dip with pita bread. In the West, it is produced industrially and consumed as a snack or appetizer with crackers or vegetables.

Etymology and spelling

The word hummus is Arabic: حُمُّص, romanized: ḥummuṣ 'chickpeas'.[7][2][8] The full name of the prepared spread in Arabic is ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna 'chickpeas with tahini'.[9] The colloquial Arabic word ḥummuṣ is a variant of the Arabic ḥimmaṣ or ḥimmiṣ which may be derived from the Aramaic language (חמצי ḥemṣīn, ḥemṣāy[10]), corresponding to the Syriac word for chickpeas: ḥem(m)ṣē.[11] The word entered the English language around the mid-20th century from the Arabic ḥummuṣ or via its borrowing for the name of the dish in Turkish: humus.[12][13]

Spelling of the word in English can be inconsistent, though most major dictionaries from American and British publishers give hummus as the primary spelling. Some American dictionaries give hommos as an alternative, while British dictionaries give houmous or hoummos.[14][2][11]

The major British supermarkets use houmous.[15][16][17][18][19]

Other spellings include homous, houmos, houmus, and similar variants. While humus (as it is spelled in Turkish) is sometimes found, it is avoided as a heteronym of humus, organic matter in soil.[14]

Origin and history

Although multiple different theories and claims of origins exist in various parts of the Middle East, evidence is insufficient to determine the precise location or time of the invention of hummus.[20] Its basic ingredients—chickpeas, sesame, lemon, and garlic—have been combined and eaten in Egypt and the Levant for centuries.[21][22] Though regional populations widely ate chickpeas, and often cooked them in stews and other hot dishes,[23] puréed chickpeas eaten cold with tahini do not appear in records before the Abbasid Caliphate in Egypt and the Levant.[24]

The earliest mention of Hummus comes from Syria, in a 13th-century cookbook attributed to the Aleppine historian Ibn al-Adim.[6][25][26] Other early written recipes for a dish resembling ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna are recorded in cookbooks written in Cairo in the 14th-century.[20][27][28] A cold purée of chickpeas with vinegar and pickled lemons with herbs, spices, and oil, but no tahini or garlic, appears in the Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table (كنز الفوائد في تنويع الموائد);[29][24] and a purée of chickpeas and tahini called hummus kasa appears in Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's The Book of Dishes:[30] it is based on puréed chickpeas and tahini, and acidulated with vinegar (not lemon), but it also contains many spices, herbs, and nuts, and no garlic. It is also served by rolling it out and letting it sit overnight.[31]

Regional preparations

 
Hummus with pine nuts and olive oil
 
Hummus served in a bowl on a platter of pita bread

As an appetizer and dip, diners scoop hummus with flatbread, such as pita.[32] It is also served as part of a meze or as an accompaniment to falafel, grilled chicken, fish, or eggplant.[32]

Hummus is a common dip in Egypt where it is eaten with pita,[33] and frequently flavored with cumin or other spices.[32][33][34]

In the Levant, hummus has long been a staple food, often served as a warm dish, with bread for breakfast, lunch or dinner. All of the ingredients in hummus are easily found in gardens, farms and markets, thus adding to the availability and popularity of the dish. Hummus is usually garnished with olive oil, "nana" mint leaves, paprika, and parsley.[35]

Hummus is a common part of everyday meals in Israel.[36] It is made from ingredients that, following Kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), can be combined with both meat and dairy meals. Chickpea dishes have long been part of the cuisine of Jews who lived in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The many Mizrahi Jewish immigrants from these countries brought their own unique variations, such as hummus with fried eggplant and boiled eggs prepared by Iraqi Jews. Israeli versions use large amounts of tahini for a creamier texture.[37]

One author calls hummus, "One of the most popular and best-known of all Syrian dishes" and a "must on any mezzeh table."[38] Syrian and Lebanese in Canada's Arab diaspora prepare and consume hummus along with other dishes like falafel, kibbeh and tabbouleh, even among the third- and fourth-generation offspring of the original immigrants.[39]

In Cyprus, hummus is part of the local cuisine in both Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities where it is called "humoi" (Greek: χούμοι).[40][41] In the United Kingdom, hummus was popularized by Greek Cypriot caterers, sometimes leading to a perception of it being a Greek food.[42]

In Turkey, hummus is considered a meze.[43]

In France, in the region of Provence, there is a dish called poichichade that resembles hummus.[44]

In the United States and Europe, hummus is commercially available in numerous traditional and non-traditional varieties, such as beet or chocolate.[45]

Nutrition

Chickpeas, the main ingredient of conventional hummus, have appreciable amounts of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin B6, manganese and other nutrients.[46]

As hummus recipes vary, so does nutritional content, depending primarily on the relative proportions of chickpeas, tahini, and water. Hummus provides roughly 170 calories for 100 grams, and is a good to excellent (more than 10% of the Daily Value) source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, and several dietary minerals.[47][48]

Fat content, mostly from tahini and olive oil, is about 14% of the total; other major components are 65% water, 17% total carbohydrates, including a small amount of sugar, and about 10% protein.[47][48]

Packaged product

United Kingdom

In the 1980s, the supermarket Waitrose was the first British supermarket to stock hummus. Hummus was popularized in the UK by chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Claudia Roden and Anissa Helou. As of 2013, £60 million worth of hummus was sold in the UK each year, and one survey found that 41% of Britons had hummus in their fridge, twice as many as the rest of Europe. A Waitrose spokesperson said it had become a grocery staple.[49]

United States

In 2006, hummus was present in 12 percent of American households, rising to 17 percent by early 2009.[50] One commentator attributed the growth of hummus to America's embrace of ethnic and exotic foods.[50]

While in 2006–08 when some 15 million Americans consumed hummus, and annual national sales were about $5 million, sales growth in 2016 was reflected by an estimated 25% of US households consuming hummus.[51] By 2016, the leading American hummus manufacturer, Sabra Dipping Company, held a 62% market share for hummus sales in the United States, and was forecast to exceed $1 billion in sales in 2017.[51][52][53]

To meet the rising consumer demand for hummus, American farmers increased their production of chickpeas four-fold since 2009, harvesting more than 100,000,000 pounds (45,000,000 kg) in 2015, an increase from 25,000,000 pounds (11,000,000 kg) in 2009.[51] Hummus consumption has been so popular that many tobacco farmers have switched to growing chickpeas to meet demand.[54]

In culture

See also: Politics of food in the Arab-Israeli conflict

Hummus is often seen as an unofficial "national dish" of Israel, reflecting its huge popularity and significance among the entire Israeli population,[32] which Israel's critics describe as an appropriation of Lebanese,[55] Palestinian or Arab culture.[56] According to Ofra Tene and Dafna Hirsch, the dispute over ownership of hummus exposes nationalism through food and the important role played by the industrialization of hummus made by Israeli private companies in 1958.[57][58] Although, hummus has traditionally been part of the cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews who lived in Arabic-speaking lands, the dish was also popularized among the Jewish immigrants from Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century. Historian Dafna Hirsch describes its adoption in their diet as part of an attempt of blending in the Middle Eastern environment,[59] while sociologist Rafi Grosglick points out the importance of its health aspects to their diet.[60] In recent years, through a process of gourmetization, the Arab identity of hummus became a marker of its authenticity, making famous Arab-Israeli villages such as Abu Gosh and Kafr Yasif. Hence, enthusiasts travel to the more remote Arab and Druze villages in the northern Galilee region for culinary experiences.[32][61][62]

In October 2008, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists petitioned the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade 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.[63][64][65] As of 2009, the Lebanese Industrialists Association was still "collecting documents and proof" to support its claim.[66]

The 2005 short film West Bank Story features a rivalry between two fictional restaurants, the Israeli "Kosher King" and the Palestinian "Hummus Hut". A parody of West Side Story, the film won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.[67] In 2012, Australian filmmaker Trevor Graham released a documentary, Make Hummus Not War, on the political and gastronomic aspects of hummus.[68]

Lebanon and Israel's chefs have been engaged in a competition over the largest dish of hummus, as validated by the Guinness World Record, as a form of contestation of "ownership".[55] The "title" has gone back and forth between Israel (2008), Lebanon (2009), Israel (January 2010),[69] and, as of 2021, Lebanon (May 2010).[55][70][71] The winning dish, cooked by 300 cooks in the village of al-Fanar, near Beirut, weighed approximately 10,450 kilograms (23,040 lb), more than double the weight of the Israeli-Arab previous record.[72][73][74]


See also

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hummus.

References

  1. ^ "hummus Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Hummus | Definition of hummus by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of Hummus". Lexico. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ^ Davidson, Alan (21 August 2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191040726 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, 1985, ISBN 0394471814, p. 45–46
  5. ^ Sonia Uvezian, Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen, 2001, ISBN 9780970971685, p. 106–107
  6. ^ a b Shaheen, Kareem (24 March 2023). "The True Origins of Hummus". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Definition of hummus". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. ^ Maan Z. Madina, Arabic-English Dictionary of the Modern Literary Language, 1973
  9. ^ Claudia Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, 2008, ISBN 0307558568, p. 68
  10. ^ "humus". Nişanyan Sözlük. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b "American Heritage Dictionary Entry: hummus". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  12. ^ "hummus". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989.
  13. ^ "Definition of hummus". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  14. ^ a b Pam Peters (2007), The Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage, Cambridge University Press, p. 370, ISBN 978-0-521-87821-0
  15. ^ Aldi Website Houmous entry, archived from the original on 7 November 2021, retrieved 7 November 2021
  16. ^ LIDL Website Houmous entry
  17. ^ Sainsburys Website Houmous entry[permanent dead link‍]
  18. ^ Tesco Website Houmous entry
  19. ^ Waitrose Website Houmous entry
  20. ^ a b Spechler, Diana (11 December 2017). "Who invented hummus?". BBC. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  21. ^ Tannahill p. 25, 61
  22. ^ Brothwell & Brothwell passim
  23. ^ e.g. a "simple dish" of meat, pulses and spices Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi described in the 13th century, Tannahill p. 174
  24. ^ a b Zaouali, Lilia; DeBevoise, M. B.; Zaouali, Lilia (2009). Medieval cuisine of the Islamic world: a concise history with 174 recipes. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26174-7. translation of L'Islam a tavola (2004), p. 65
  25. ^ Mishan, Ligaya (26 July 2023). "This Hummus Holds Up After 800 Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  26. ^ Verde, Tom (21 May 2024). "Medieval Chefs Would Have Liked Dessert Hummus". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  27. ^ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, John Wiley & Sons, 2010, By Gil Marks, page 270
  28. ^ "Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook: English Translation, with an Introduction and Glossary", Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook, Brill, 9 November 2017, ISBN 978-90-04-34991-9, retrieved 29 September 2024
  29. ^ Nasrallah, Nawal (2018). Treasure trove of benefits and variety at the table: a fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook. Leiden Boston: Brill. p. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Treasure_Trove_of_Benefits_and_Variety_a/fIJ1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=9789004349919&. ISBN 9789004349919.
  30. ^ Ibn-al-Karīm, Muḥammad Ibn-al-Ḥasan; Perry, Charles; ibn al-Karīm, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (2005). A Baghdad cookery book: the book of dishes (Kitāb al-ṭabīkh). Totnes: Prospect Books. ISBN 9781903018422.
  31. ^ Perry et al., p. 383
  32. ^ a b c d e Raz, Dan Savery (1 August 2015). "Hunting for hummus in Israel". BBC Travel. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  33. ^ a b Pateman, Robert; El-Hamamsy, Salwa (2003) [1993]. Egypt. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7614-1670-8.
  34. ^ Rombauer, Irma S.; Becker, Marion Rombauer; Becker, Ethan (2002). All about Party Foods & Drinks. New York: Scribner. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7432-1679-1.
  35. ^ Ibrahim, Lailie, Institute for Middle East Understanding, Hummus, a Palestinian staple Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 31 March 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  36. ^ Vered, Ronit (13 May 2017). "Why Are Israeli Jews Obsessed With Hummus?". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  37. ^ Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook. Houghton Mifflin Harcour (ed.). Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. p. 42.
  38. ^ Arto der Hartoiunian Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East, London 1983, p.33.
  39. ^ Paul Robert Magocsi (1999), Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples, University of Toronto Press, p. 1244, ISBN 0-8020-2938-8
  40. ^ "Traditional food of Cyprus". delac.eu. D.E.L.A.C. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  41. ^ "Cyprus foods, traditional dishes and recipes". Life in Cyprus, a view from the inside. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  42. ^ Sami Zubaida, "National, Communal and Global Dimensions in Middle Eastern Food Cultures" in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000, ISBN 1-86064-603-4, p. 35.
  43. ^ Shulman, Martha Rose (30 October 2007). Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine. Rodale. ISBN 9781594862342. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017.
  44. ^ Colonna, Jill (10 July 2015). "Provençal Garlic Chickpea Spread (Poichichade)". Mad about Macarons. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  45. ^ "Sabra Is Finally Releasing Chocolate Hummus Just in Time for Valentine's Day". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  46. ^ "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned per 100 grams". Nutritiondata.com from Conde Nast; republished from the USDA National Nutrient Database, version SR-21. 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  47. ^ a b "Hummus, commercial per 100 grams". Nutritiondata.com from Conde Nast; republished from the USDA National Nutrient Database, version SR-21. 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  48. ^ a b "Hummus, homemade per 100 grams". Nutritiondata.com from Conde Nast; republished from the USDA National Nutrient Database, version SR-21. 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  49. ^ Salter, Katy (7 August 2013). "The British love affair with hummus". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  50. ^ a b There’s Hummus Among Us Archived 1 September 2011 at Wikiwix By Elena Ferretti, Fox News, April 5, 2010
  51. ^ a b c Justin R. Silverman (20 April 2016). "Hummus's quest to conquer America, one mouth at a time". Today. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  52. ^ Scott Goodson (5 June 2015). "The Surprising Rise of Hummus in America". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  53. ^ Elaine Watson (29 September 2016). "Sabra 'well on its way' to becoming our next $1bn brand, says PepsiCo". Foodnavigator-USA.com, William Reed Business Media. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  54. ^ Hainer, Michelle (May 2013). "Hummus is so popular, tobacco farmers switch to chickpeas". today.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  55. ^ a b c Ari Ariel, "The Hummus Wars", Gastronomica 12:1:34–42 (Spring 2012) doi:10.1525/GFC.2012.12.1.34
  56. ^ Mitnick, Joshua (25 July 2007). "Hummus brings Israelis, Palestinians to the table". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  57. ^ Atsuko Ichijo, Ronald Ranta (2022). Springer (ed.). "Food, National Identity and Nationalism: From Everyday to Global Politics". National Identities. 24 (1): 123. Bibcode:2022NatId..24...74T. doi:10.1080/14608944.2020.1864123.
  58. ^ Hirsch D, Tene O. Hummus: The making of an Israeli culinary cult. Journal of Consumer Culture. 2013;13(1):25-45. doi:10.1177/1469540512474529
  59. ^ HIRSCH, DAFNA (2011). ""Hummus is best when it is fresh and made by Arabs": The gourmetization of hummus in Israel and the return of the repressed Arab". American Ethnologist. 38 (4): 617–630. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2011.01326.x. ISSN 0094-0496. JSTOR 41410422.
  60. ^ Ishita Banerjee-Dube. Cambridge University Press (ed.). Cooking Cultures. p. 51.
  61. ^ Yotam Ottolenghi (29 June 2010). "The perfect hummus debate". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016.
  62. ^ Marks, Gil (17 November 2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. HMH. ISBN 9780544186316 – via Google Books.
  63. ^ Karam, Zeina, "Hummus war looms between Lebanon and Israel Archived 15 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Associated Press, 7 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  64. ^ Wheeler, Carolynne (11 October 2008). "Hummus food fight between Lebanon and Israel". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018.
  65. ^ "Whose hummus is it anyway?", The Times of South Africa, 9 November 2008, archived from the original on 20 November 2008
  66. ^ "Lebanese to Israel: Hands Off Our Hummus!". Haaretz. Associated Press. 24 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  67. ^ Anderman, Nirit (26 February 2007). "Musical Comedy on West Bank Wins Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film". Haaretz. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  68. ^ Rutledge, David (11 March 2015). "Make hummus not war". ABC Australia. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  69. ^ "Israel takes Hummus World Record", Haaretz January 8, 2010; see also Jawdat Ibrahim
  70. ^ "Lebanon claims latest title in 'Hummus War'". CNN. 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  71. ^ "Lebanon breaks Israel's hummus world record". Gulf News, GN Media. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
  72. ^ "Abu Gosh mashes up world's largest hummus". YNet. AFP. 8 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010.
  73. ^ "Abu Ghosh secures Guinness world record for largest dish of hummus". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  74. ^ Jack Brockbank (12 January 2010). "The largest serving of hummus". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.

Bibliography

  • Afzal-Khan, Fawzia; Seshadri-Crooks, Kalpana (2000), Fawzia Afzal-Khan; Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks (eds.), The Pre-occupation of Postcolonial Studies, Duke University Press, ISBN 9780822325215
  • Amster, Linda; Sheraton, Mimi (2003), Linda Amster (ed.), The New York Times Jewish Cookbook: More Than 825 Traditional and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9780312290931
  • Bricklin, Mark (1994), Prevention Magazine's Nutrition Advisor: The Ultimate Guide to the Health-Boosting and Health-Harming Factors in Your Diet, Rodale, ISBN 9780875962252
  • Don Brothwell and Patricia Brothwell (1998), Food in Antiquity: A survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Expanded Edition, Johns Hopkins University, ISBN 0-8018-5740-6
  • Marks, Gil (2010), Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, John Wiley and Sons, pp. 269–271
  • Rodinson, Maxime; Perry, Charles; A. J. Arberry (1998), Medieval Arab Cookery, Prospect Books (UK), ISBN 978-0907325918
  • Habeeb Salloum; James Peters (1996), From the Lands of Figs and Olives: Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 1-86064-038-9
  • Tannahill, Reay (1973), Food in History, Stein and Day, ISBN 0-517-57186-2
  • Wesley D, Wesley E (2012), University of California Press (ed.), Beyond Hummus and Falafel: Social and Political Aspects of Palestinian Food in Israel, University of California Press, ISBN 9780520262324
 
Look up hummus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Anny Gaul, "Translating Hummus", Cooking with Gaul, October 21, 2019. On hummus variants and authenticity.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&oldid=1264388583"