What Is Hummus?

Hummus is a thick dip made from chickpeas and sesame seed paste (tahini). Traditional hummus generally has four ingredients, cooked chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic. From those four ingredients, the possibilities are endless. Many incorporate cumin, paprika, parsley, zaatar, and pine nuts. For many Arab families, hummus is a breakfast food, while others consider it to be part of the appetizer course. In Israel today, there are hummus restaurants that make hummus the star of the meal and put meat, vegetables, and nuts on top.

The exact history of hummus is not known; perhaps because it was once thought of as peasant food and was not included in medieval Persian or Arabic texts. The first mention of a dish close to the hummus that we know of today goes back to a 13th century cookbook in Cairo, Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada, and is called Hummus Kasa.

Hummus Popularity:

How did hummus become popular in Israel? A number of European Jews who came to Israel in the 19th century were kibbutzniks who rejected the foods of Europe. They replaced them with foods more common in the region such as hummus and falafel. It took a long time to catch on as food that people had in their homes because of the sometimes-tedious process of cooking and smashing chickpeas.

In 1994, the Strauss Group introduced prepackaged salads such as hummus, under the brand name Achla, (Arabic for awesome/great) which made it more accessible. In America, the word hummus first appeared in a Pittsburgh newspaper, The Jewish Criterion, in a guide for tourists in 1949. American Jews who visited Israel along with Israelis in America helped make it popular in America.

So – hummus began in Arabic cuisine, was adopted by European Jews who moved to Israel and rejected European dishes, and then it came to America from Israel by those who traveled abroad.

What Is Falafel:

Falafel is a deep-fried croquette of ground, raw chickpeas or fava beans. Fava beans and chickpeas have been in southwest Asia for more than 4000 years! Middle Eastern Jews have been eating falafel for centuries. The pareve (neither meat/dairy) dish makes it especially popular. Fava beans were commonly replaced with chickpeas in Jewish cooking because many Jews have a hereditary enzyme deficiency, that doesn’t allow them to eat Fava beans. It was Yemenite immigrants to Israel who made a chickpea version of falafel in Yemin and turned it into a business in Israel; ultimately one of the most iconic Israeli foods. Like hummus, the word
was first mentioned in America in 1949 in The Jewish Criterion and was made popular by Israelis and Jews who ate this street food in Israel.
_{*Hummus and Falafel facts gleaned from The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, by Gil Marks}

Questions to Consider:

• What’s your favorite kind of hummus?
• Do you like Falafel in pita, or plain?