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FeedHummus Among Us
One chef accepts our chickpea challenge.
By John Bruno Turiano Published January 25, 2011 at 02:28 PM
Nothing goes with warm flatbread better than hummus—that is, cooked and mashed chickpeas blended with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and tahini (sesame paste). It’s one of the world’s first known prepared foods, so it definitely has staying power. But how do you know if your hummus is good? We asked Bekir Helvacioglu, co-owner and chef of Turkish Meze (409 Mount Pleasant Ave, Mamaroneck 914-777-3042), to sample eight brands of hummus blind and rate them from best to worst. Here are his rankings.
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| Whole Foods Greek Hummus ($1.99/8 oz) “Great texture and color. Perfect amount of lemon and garlic. A bit thick, but otherwise tastes great.” | Yorgo’s Original Hommus ($3.29/8 oz) “Chickpea/tahini ratio right on. Good texture and right amount of garlic. Too heavy on lemon, however.” | Sabra Classic Hummus ($3.99/10 oz) “Texture and color good. Tastes fine, but too lemony and needs garlic.” | Cedar’s Original Hommus ($2.69/8 oz) “Texture is spot-on, but it’s a bit bland. More tahini is needed.” |
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| Trader Joe’s Smooth and Creamy Classic Hummus ($2.99/10 oz) “Texture is right, but it’s not the best flavor. Tastes sweet and [of] vinegar.” | Good Neighbors Organic Hummus ($3.49/8 oz) “Too thick and dry—it looks like chickpeas and nothing else. It’s sticky on the palate and has an acidic taste.” | Yaranush Mediterranean Foods ($2.99/8 oz) “This is not thick enough. It has no garlic and needs salt. Not good.” | Snack ($1.99/8 oz) “Lots of oil and the color is off—almost yellow, like mustard— and the chickpeas are not ground enough. Has a bitter taste.” |
