Home ›› 09 Nov 2022 ›› Opinion
Astalwart favourite among vegans and vegetarians, hummus in the U.S. has evolved from its original pigeonholing as a crunchy-granola health food to a true kitchen staple (via Quartz). These days, hummus is known as the perfect dip to serve with veggies or crackers and the ideal plant-based, protein-rich sandwich filling to accompany falafel, grilled vegetables, or enjoy solo.
As hummus’ popularity and omnipresence continue to grow, the selection of available flavours has too. Supermarkets are heartily stocked with different brands and varieties, topped with anything from whole chickpeas to pine nuts, and infused with flavours ranging from chili peppers to chocolate. Meanwhile, recipes for homemade hummus range from plain to pumpkin-flavoured and can easily be infused with pesto or enriched with creamy avocado.
But before there was dessert hummus, there was plain old hummus — better known, according to the BBC, as hummus b’tahini, which literally translates to chickpeas with tahini. The dip’s Arabic name gives us at least one clue about its long and somewhat disputed history; we’ve got the scoop on the rest.
Multiple cultures lay claim to the original recipe for hummus, and The Spruce Eats highlights a rift between Greeks, Israelis, and Arabs over who was the first to blend chickpeas with sesame to produce the rich purée we know today. There’s even more dissent within these groups, and the BBC indicates that among others, the Lebanese, Turks, Syrians, and Egyptians all assert that hummus b’tahini originates from their cuisines. The Spruce Eats points to evidence in favour of the Egyptians introducing the dish, and indeed, Middle East historian Ari Ariel tells the BBC the earliest recipe resembling hummus hails from the pages of a 13th-century cookbook from Cairo. That said, Greece shares many culinary specialties with the Arab world due to a long trade partnership between the two regions, and some believe that the dip could have arisen there.
The BBC also provides evidence pointing to a Jewish origin, and chef Tom Kabalo of Raq Hummus in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights tells the outlet that hummus is referred to in the Hebrew Bible, which dates back at least three millennia. Meanwhile, American food historian and medieval Arab food expert Charles Perry tells the BBC that Damascus, Syria is the more probable homeland of hummus, as the method used to whip the dip suggests an urban aristocratic origin. The debate might come full circle since Turkish rulers were present in the city in the 18th century.
In 2008, the BBC reports that the disagreement over the dip’s origins led to the so-called Hummus Wars. Lebanon blamed Israel for taking unearned ownership of a culinary legacy that the Lebanese believed to be rightly theirs. A Lebanese industrial group not only sued Israel for breach of food copyright but requested that the European Union acknowledge hummus as Lebanese once and for all. Neither attempt bore fruit and instead, they point to just how contentious the issue is.
There is indeed some evidence in favor of Lebanon’s claims, and food historian Charles Perry names Beirut as his second choice origin city for hummus (via BBC). Nonetheless, the probable answer is that multiple cultures are responsible for the creation of the chickpea dip. “Hummus is a Middle Eastern food claimed by all and owned by none,” Oren Rosenfeld, writer and director of “Hummus! The Movie,” tells the BBC. The outlet remarks that indeed, many people in the hummus business opt for the diplomatic route and eschew taking any side at all.
Mashed
