Hummus: the ultimate guide for beginners

So I found this interesting article online when I googled the word Hummus. This is an article from the blog I Googled Israel giving a brief history of Hummus and top 10 places to eat Hummus in Israel:

Hummus: The ultimate guide to beginnings - article

They also have an interesting video about Hummus in Israel:

THE BLASPHEMY OF MEXITERRANEAN FOOD !

"East is East and West is West and Never the twain they meet"

So wrote the poet awhile back, and his words are so accurate - especially when we are looking at Hummus.

The success of food trucks in LA has led to a fusion of various cuisines - including Asian and Mexican.

And while some of these fusions do work and create a new hybrid that is interesting -

The combination of middle eastern and Mexican cuisine doesn't work in our opinion on any level.

There is no need for a Burrito - cause Middle Easterns already have the Pita.

There is no need for hot peppers - cause middle easterners already have Garlice

And there's no need for Guacomole sauce- cause we already have Hummus.

Thus I don't understand why people love this new cuisine and the fact that it's becoming so popular proves that at the end of the day - people don't really want to eat great food - but prefer eating dilluted food as long as it has a catchy name!

Both Mexican and Middle Eastern foods are wonderful - both are spicy both are unique both are very popular and both are healthy.

But the combination of both creates such a cacophony of different strong tastes that it becomes something incoherent and chaotic.

The texture of Mexiterranean is also a travesty as that too is inconsistent with either one of the two original cuisines that created it.

TO CONCLUDE:

Mexiterranean to me is like a TIGON or a LIGER - a combination of a Tiger and Lion. Can it be achieved thanks to modern science? Yes. Is it good for the new hybrid animal? No. Does it create a totally deformed new animal? TOTALLY!! Is it dangerous? YES. It breaks the heart of anyone that loves Tigers and Lions and sees what science can do to destroy both breeds.

So perhaps the question of the day isn't COULD THIS HYBRID BE DONE but rather -

SHOULD THIS HYBRID BE ALLOWED?

And to that my answer is a simple and very loud - NO!

WE FOUND LOVE IN A HUMMUS PLACE


Another cool Hummus themed project we wanted to share. A  Hummus music video shot in a Hummus bar in NYC.

The video is called : We found love in a Hummus place.

It's already gotten over 16,000 hits on Youtube.com








To learn more about the project go to HUGE MISTAKE's WEBSITE:

http://huuugemistake.com/



The music video was created by talented film maker Shen Liberman - a filmmaker to watch and the video is a spoof of Rihanna's song: :"We Found Love".
The music video has that 80's retro feel and it's a really fun video to watch.

The video was shot as an ultra low budget project and that forced the creators of the video to replace their lack of money with a lot of creativity.

Hopefully as art will deal more seriously with Hummus, like in this wonderful video  -
Hummus bars and restaurants will start treating their Hummus with more respect.

It's sad that such a fine dish is still given so little respect and especially in the US  - Middle eastern restaurants - put so little energy into really fine tuning the recipe and so many of them serve bland and uninspiring hummus that is hurting it's acceptance by the public as a high end treat.

In the middle east chefs study for years the fine art of making it.
And for those smiling as they read this - FYI - making great Hummus is just as complex as making great Sushi,  Pasta or complex fish sauces . The  basic idea of making Hummus is simple. Mastering how to make it exquisite is complex.
Many Middle Eastern friends have complained to me that American Hummus - is to a cake lover - like eating a Twinkie. Something that tastes like a plastic commodity - not like a baked good.

Hopefully as Hummus enters the pop culture more and more - with film and music videos like the one's we've covered - chef's will realize it is something they need to pay more attention to.

After all - Hummus based on this video - can help you find love.

Bon Apetite lovers of life, lovers of people and lovers of hummus.

Thanks Shen for making this wonderful video.
We're looking forward to see your future projects.

HUMMUS WARS - NOW THE MOVIE!

Awhile back we reported to all of you about the Hummus Wars between Israel and Lebanon.
We even followed up on that funny story that kept developing like a true Middle Eastern Soap opera.
(For all those who forgot -

Click here for the AP story reported by the NYPOST

Well, like all real life soap operas - Hollywood eventually comes knocking - and this story is now being made into a film by gifted Los Angeles director - Avital Levy.

The project already has a trailer that can be seen and they're raising money for it on Jewcer.com - A Jewish kickstarter.
And for those who have been living under a rock for the last six month and have never heard the name Kickstarter -
Kickstarter.com has become the premiere destination for many filmmakers and all other visionaries to raise funding for their various projects.
But while Kickstarter has endless projects and thus it's easy for fund seekers to get lost in the shuffle -
Jewcer aims at catering to a more specific crowd and for more focused projets and hopes that will make it easier for those interested in Jewish themes to find the right project they'd like to fund.
Here's what I found on them online:

"Jewcer is a crowdfunding platform for projects, ideas and causes benefiting the global Jewish community and Israel. Jewcer innovators and funders make a positive impact on the world by sparking innovations and turning ideas into reality."

Here's the link to the Hummus War's Jewcer page
Their goal is to raise $8000 and they've already raised $345

Here's what they write about the project:

"Hummus Wars is a documentary about national pride through food and by breaking a world record. Each country has the intention of winning and remaining steadfast about their superiority, ownership and historical connections to hummus. The goal of the documentary is to shoot the battle from the perspective of each country - Israel and Lebanon while capturing the events and points of view from within these countries which have been neck to neck to win since 2007. Ultimately, this is the story of people, community and two little countries attempting to reach a form of self-determination through their status with hummus."

Directed by Avital Levy
Cinematography by Aner Moss + Avital Levy
Edited by Orly Shuber + Avital Levy

So for all you Hummus lovers - I hope you help them out, cause I think the world needs more Hummus themed films.

Good luck to the filmmakers and we can't wait to see your Hummus film.

If you want more info here are the links both to Jewcer and to the Hummus War's page:


And for those wanting to pursue their own project on Jewcer, Click here for Jewcer

SABRA HUMMUS - ES TU BRUTE?

ES TU BRUTE are the last words of Casear, in Shakespeare's Casear.
The idea that you've been betrayed even by your closest friends.
Not just betrayed. Stabbed in the back. Killed by a friend's painful dagger! That's what I felt lately with Sabra's Hummus.
Sabra has been an old friend.
With all the chaos and instability in the world - Sabra Hummus has always maintained a high level of consistency and while it's never been a spectacular Hummus- it's always been good enough that it could serve as the go to Hummus when there was no other alternative around.

But the love story's gone.
The little magic their hummus used to have is lost.
I've tried several of their Hummus variations in LA and while initially I tried to give every justification in the book as to why I'm not loving their hummus.
Finally I had to admit.
The Hummus tastes different.
It tastes more bland.
It tastes more artificial.
It tastes more generic
It tastes like there's more preservatives in it and yes... it even tastes a little bit more plasticky than before.

It's sad when denial ends and you got to face the mirror and say to yourself - I've been dillusional for so long.

I have no idea why after all those years - Sabra has decided to move on from it's loyal base of Hummus lovers and fans.

But that's life.
Nothing stays constant.
Sony used to rule the music world with their walkman.
But there's a new king in town. Who remembers walkman today - it's all about the ipad...

So goes the glory of the hummus world.

Good bye Sabra.
I love you -
But now I must find another hummus to love.