Hummus is a delicious dip or spread that comes from the Mediterranean and Middle East. But unlike other dips and spreads, hummus is quite healthy for you. It can commonly be found in stores, but if you want to make your own hummus there’s a few things you need to know.
What You’ll Need
Although there are thousands of variations, hummus generally uses 6 ingredients. These ingredients are:
- Chickpea
- Tahini
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Lemon
- Olive Oil
You can find these ingredients in any store. If you are really wanting to do things from scratch, you can grow some of them from home. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. This plant can be grown quickly with a moderate amount of care. Cumin and Garlic are also relatively easy to grow. Chickpeas will require a little more attention as they have a very long growing season. All of this can be accomplished with your normal gardening tools. Although you may wish to have a few extra pots so that you can start the plants growing inside.
Unless you already have lemon and olive oil trees, you will need to buy these ingredients from the store or arrange a transplant. If you don’t want to use store bought olive oil, you can buy olives and make your own with the use of a meat tenderizer and an immersion blender.
Making It
You want your hummus to be creamy, yet light and fluffy. In order to accomplish this, you need to know the secret for preparing your chickpeas. Too many amateur hummus makers just use canned chickpeas and are disappointed with the results. The problem is that these chickpeas are not cooked enough and won’t blend nicely. You should overcook your chickpeas until they are so tender that they get mushy. Add just a little baking soda. This will help the chickpeas break down as you make it.
Is It Worth It?
The fact is, store bought hummus is recalled due to contamination more often than some people might be comfortable with. Making your own can be worth it due to contamination prevention alone. But aside from that, you will be able to take pride in having created something yourself. It’s a nice little thing that you can brag about to your friends. With time, you can develop your own special recipe to share with others.
So, what’s stopping you? If you’re nervous about wasting time and effort in the garden, then try with some store-bought ingredients. With the proper ingredients it’s a simple matter of putting it all together in the food processor.
Here’s another article you might like: What You Should Know Before Cooking Meat For Dinner
