I prefer homemade hummus to store-bought, but I always end up with far more than I can use up in a reasonable amount of time–a standard-size can of chickpeas yields a lot of hummus, and I’m far too lazy to prepare dried chickpeas.
So if it worked ok, I’d be interested in freezing half a batch to consume later. Does anyone have experience with this? How did it turn out?
I have no knowledge of this, but I asked Mrs Nine (who is a cooking goddess), who says, yes, you can. It might separate a bit, but you can whisk it together again.
I, personally, take absolutely no responsibility for any consequences.
While I am neither Mrs Nine, nor a cooking godess, I can say that I agree with her observations.
I’ve often made and frozen it and yup, it splits in the freezer. But you can whisk it back into emulsion once it thaws out properly and it tastes fine. It does look a bit offputting, but don’t let that phase you.
I’d also suggest not filling the pot you’re going to freeze it in, so that there is some room for expansion, because it seems to expand when you freeze it. Or maybe when it’s thawing. But one way and another if you fill the pot to the brim, you’ll have a bit of a mess on your hands.
I’ve made big batches of hummus and stored some in the freezer in smaller containers. Other than it being a little thicker upon defrosting (probably due to the separation of the water) it keeps really well.
Cool, thanks!
All this hummus talk has made me hungry. Can someone post a decent and simple recipe?
Also, what’s the cost of making it vs. buying it premade?
I swear I read the thread title as “Can you freeze humans?” At first I passed over it thinking it was a question about cryogenics, but then I realized it was in Cafe Society and did a double-take.
Here’s my basic recipe:
1 can of chickpeas. Moosh 'em up with a fork in a mixing bowl.
Add the juice of 1 good-sized lemon. Stir. Moosh up some of the chickpeas that you inevitably missed mooshing the first time.
Render a large clove of garlic into a paste via the knife-n-salt method. Add to the bowl.
Add in a few glugs of good olive oil. (Olive oil quality is key.) Stir, moosh some more.
Add a couple good-sized spoonfuls of tahini.
Add salt to taste. Start with a couple good sized pinches. Add fresh-ground black pepper to taste. Dump in some cumin if you want.
Mix and adjust whatever needs adjusting.
I’ve never run the costs on this recipe, but store-bought hummus costs me 4 or 5 bucks for 8 ounces, and the quality of the homemade version is far better.
Here is my basic recipe:
1 can chickpeas (drained)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp garlic powder (or a couple of cloves)
Add salt, pepper, and other spices to taste.
Throw the whole lot into a little food processor and add small amounts water until the desired consistency is met. I like it nice and thick for sandwiches, but when used as a dip it is nice for it to be a little thinner.
The bulk of the cost is the chickpeas which cost about .75 per can. Next most expensive items are tahini at .40 (6.40 for 16oz) and lemon juice at .30 ($2.40 for 8oz). The whole batch (a little less than 2 cups) probably cost around $1.70.
I hate “me too” posts, but…er… me too! I’m just glad that I wasn’t the only one.
Not sure, I’ve never had any last long enough to consider freezing it 
Has anyone tried other pulse hummuses, like soybeans and peas? I randomly ran across a recipe for the former and then searched on the latter out of curiosity, so I’m guessing there are even lentil and lima bean hummuses out there. Are they any good?
There are a variety of similar dishes out there but they aren’t necessarily made of beans.
A variant of hummus uses eggplant as a substitute for the beans.
Then there are further offshoots which we call caviars (no relation to fish other than maybe because the seeds are like eggs). Here’s one with eggplant. A redish one is also made with peppers and can get a little spicy (couldn’t find a link to the pepper caviar recipe).
Thanks, tr0psn4j. Caviar sounds interesting, but I can’t access that site from work for some reason.