# Homemade hummus is HARD! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093 "2012-10-18T03:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/21 "2012-10-18T23:59:05Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Unbroken shell eggs maybe. Do you typically buy broken eggs, or do you break them yourself before storage? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/22 "2012-10-19T00:04:48Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Unbroken shell eggs maybe. As opposed to…_what?_ ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/23 "2012-10-19T00:57:08Z")
He’s saying that the shelf life of unbroken eggs is long, but once you crack them open they spoil fast. Wait, is this a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/24 "2012-10-19T00:58:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I make it from chickpeas soaked overnight. Blend them in a food processor with sesame oil, garlic, camino, curry powder and lemon juice. > I don’t want to spend the money on tahini. What is camino? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/25 "2012-10-19T01:02:29Z")
[Comino](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090727201541AAuZXTA)- in other words, cumin. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/26 "2012-10-19T01:04:59Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > He’s saying that the shelf life of unbroken eggs is long, but once you crack them open they spoil fast. Wait, is this a whoosh? Oh, well if that’s the case then yeah, of course. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/27 "2012-10-19T01:33:25Z")
heh, I bought dried chickpeas and some tahini months ago meaning to make hummus from scratch and never got around to it. I’m glad I read this because peeling chickpeas is for the birds. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/28 "2012-10-19T02:02:48Z")
> [@toast\_pakora](#): > > heh, I bought dried chickpeas and some tahini months ago meaning to make hummus from scratch and never got around to it. I’m glad I read this because peeling chickpeas is for the birds. I’ve never peeled chickpeas. What the heck are you guys talking about? Wait, I’m thinking of falafel. I use canned peas for humus. Where’s the slap my head smilie in edit? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/29 "2012-10-19T02:07:16Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’ve never peeled chickpeas. What the heck are you guys talking about? > Wait, I’m thinking of falafel. I use canned peas for humus. > Where’s the slap my head smilie in edit? : smack : ( close the gaps) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/30 "2012-10-19T02:19:18Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > : smack : ( close the gaps) Thank you, Sir or Madam. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/31 "2012-10-19T03:19:40Z")
If you buy dried channa, they often have a dark skin on the bean. These are loosened or float free during soaking, but a majority of the skins cling to the beans after soaking and cooking. Agitating the soaking water before draining may dislodge some of the skins, but if you don’t like the skins in the cooked product, you’ll have clean each individual bean. Some places sell a dried channa that is much smaller than a garbanzo, about the same size as a lentil, and these typically have no skin. For those who collect information, the channa bean is supposed to have the lowest glycemic index of just about any food. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/32 "2012-10-19T03:31:16Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > He’s saying that the shelf life of unbroken eggs is long, but once you crack them open they spoil fast. Wait, is this a whoosh? That is pretty much it in an er eggshell. Yes whole eggs will keep, egg foods prepared from eggs like egg salad and omelets and well you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/33 "2012-10-19T13:05:53Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Agitating the soaking water before draining may dislodge some of the skins, but if you don’t like the skins in the cooked product, you’ll have clean each individual bean. Can’t the _Shabbes Goy_ do that? ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/34 "2012-10-19T17:58:39Z")
The first reply is correct - don’t omit the tahini if you can’t find tahini, substitute for it. Peanut butter works but it must be the all natural peanut only kind - not sweetened and so on. I prefer to use almond butter though if I can’t find tahini. The lemon juice and salt usually preserve it enough for me not to go moldy before I’ve eaten it all. I don’t actually add olive oil blended in, though I do put a tiny bit on top when serving it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/35 "2012-10-19T18:04:01Z")
> [@Deegeea](#): > > I don’t actually add olive oil blended in, though I do put a tiny bit on top when serving it. Do you use water as in the first reply? ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/36 "2012-10-19T21:50:24Z")
Please forgive me if I make the observation that all this seems like a lot of work for something that looks like baby poo and tastes like library paste. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/37 "2012-10-19T22:22:28Z")
> [@grude](#): > > And another WAIT! as channa flour is carried by every grocery here:smack: Damn I wish I had known you could use that to make hummus. Something to be aware of: if by “channa flour,” you mean besan (gram flour), it’s usually made with a different (smaller) type of chick pea than that used in middle eastern cooking. I don’t know if it would alter the taste, so it may still work for you. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/38 "2012-10-19T22:41:02Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Please forgive me if I make the observation that all this seems like a lot of work for something that looks like baby poo and tastes like library paste. Garlic, Sir. Sesame oil. Curry powder. That expensive stuff that taste like sesame oil for those who can afford seven bucks a jar. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/39 "2012-10-20T01:43:30Z")
At this point, making hummus is pretty routine for me. The only difficulty is that the sound of the machine scares the baby. [Here’s a thread I previously started on the subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=651584) I use canned beans. I tried the garbanzo flour, but found that the texture was not to my taste at all. However, from that experiment I discovered that it’s easier to use garbanzo flour to create a gravy from broth than messing around with a roux. As for skinning the beans, I don’t find it worth it, especially since using the emulsification trick generally gets the beans nicely smoothed out. But you do want to run your rubber spatula around once in a while in the food processor to distribute parts of the mix that the blade doesn’t suck in. On peeling the beans, though, the first time I tried it I found it labor intensive. Subsequently I noticed that if you pinch the bean, it often pops out of the skin cleanly. I still suspect it’s not worth it, though I’ll try it again some day. If you’re finding that hummus tastes like library paste, I can’t imagine what you’re seasoning it with. I usually use a whole head of garlic, roasted until it caramelizes, along with maybe four cloves of raw garlic. I add red pepper, which adds both heat and flavor with barely a sprinkle. A chipotle in adobo sauce is nice, or a few milliliters of Chipotle Tabasco. I tried recently adding what I thought were a lot of jalapeno slices, but that came out kind of bland, though the nuttiness continues to be rewarding. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093/40 "2012-10-20T08:00:51Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Garlic, Sir. Sesame oil. Curry powder. That expensive stuff that taste like sesame oil for those who can afford seven bucks a jar. What curry powder? I used cumin to great effect, but if there’s a special type of curry powder that I might try, then, well, I might try! Anyone have luck freezing and then thawing hummus? I made a huge batch of hummus and my own Arab bread the day before work sent me to Thailand, so my wife froze it, and now I’m wondering what I have to look forward to when I return home. Oh, and the Chinese sesame paste? No so good. I might try my American commercial (sweetened, unfortunately) peanut butter next time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-hummus-is-hard/638093.md?page=3)