Hummus

For the biological matter in soil, see Humus; for the band, see Humus (band).

Hummus with olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and sumac.

Hummus (also variously spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus) is a dip or spread which in modern recipes is made from blended chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Hummus has been a dietary staple in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world for thousands of years.

The name comes from the Arabic word for chickpeas حُمُّص (pronounced hummus). The full name in Arabic is حُمُّص بالطحينة (hummus bi tahina) which means chickpeas with tahini.

History

The origins of hummus are unknown. It is one of the oldest known prepared foods and has been used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine for thousands of years. Plato and Socrates both noted the nourishing benefits of hummus (hommos in Greek), which has been a part of Greek culture at least since classical times. An ancient Egyptian recipe calls for wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, which did not arrive in the Middle East until about the 8th century CE.

Hummus has long been a staple food in Syria and Lebanon. The dish later became popular in Jordan and Israel and has become increasingly available in America and Europe.

Serving methods

Hummus garnished with whole chickpeas on a Yemeni serving dish

As an appetizer and dip hummus is scooped with flatbread (such as pita). Outside the Middle East it may be eaten with tortilla chips and crackers of various kinds. Hummus is also used as part of a meze, as a sandwich filling and as a dressing for dishes such as falafel, grilled chicken, fish or eggplant). It may be garnished chopped or thinly-sliced tomato, cucumber, cilantro, sautéed mushrooms, whole chickpeas, olive oil and hard-boiled egg.

Hummus Ful (pronounced /fuːl/) is topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled until soft and then crushed into a mush. Hummus Masubha/Mashawsha is a mixture of hummus paste, warm chickpeas and tahini.

Lebanon

In Lebanon hummus may be garnished with colorful vegetables along with parsley and sumac. Pickled turnips along with pickled cucumbers and hot green peppers may be served on the side with a traditional garnish of sour pomegranate seeds.

Hummus Awarma is topped with minced meat, onions and pine nuts.

Palestine

Hummus with pine nuts

In Palestine pine nuts are a very traditional garnish.

Egypt

Hummus is traditionally garnished with cumin in Egypt.

Jordan

In Jordan Hummus mahluta (also known as Kudshiya) is covered with a combination of ful paste and warm chick peas.

Nutritional information

Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber. Depending on the recipe hummus carries varying amounts of monounsaturated fat. Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegan diets and like other combinations of grains and pulses, when eaten with bread it provides most of the essential amino acids for humans.