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January 2007

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Salsas, Dips & Spreads

Flavored Hummus From Salt & Vinegar

Shelf-Stable and At-The-Ready

CAPSULE REPORT: A new shelf-stable hummus—perhaps the first in the gourmet category—offers four flavors and the convenience of grabbing it from the pantry when guests pop in for a glass of wine. We also like it as a base for canapés, and as something nutritious to keep for late nights at work when bad-for-you foods beckon.

• Overview & Hummus Recipe
• Product Review
• Shopping Information

Overview

Hummus (also spelled hummos) is one of the most popular transplants from Middle Eastern cuisine. The nutritious* chickpea purée is a pervasive part of mezze platters in Greek and Turkish restaurants. It is also popular with vegetarians, an easy-to-make dip for crudités, and easily found as take-out in grocery stores and delis (Abraham’s and Sabra are two very tasty supermarket brands). If you want to make it yourself, all you need is a food processor to blend the following ingredients:

• 14 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• ½ cup tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt (we prefer sea salt)

You can flavor the hummus in any variety of ways: with artichoke hearts, black beans, cilantro, cumin, curry, jalapeño (ancho, chipotle or whatever chile you favor), parsley, red pepper, sundried tomato or, as the expression goes, whatever floats your boat. Fresh hummus can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week and frozen for up to 3 months.

*Chickpeas are high in calories but also high in protein and fiber, and a good source of copper, folate and manganese. One cup of chickpeas has 269 calories, 36 from fat (4g total fat). It is no saturated fat or cholesterol, 45g carbohydrate, 12g dietary fiber, 8g sugar, 15g protein, 11 mg of sodium.

Product Review

Salt & Vinegar is a new American company that is focusing on all-natural, Mediterranean-origin specialty foods based on family recipes from the old country. Recognizing that there was no shelf-stable gourmet hummus (shelf-stable means that the product requires no refrigeration and has a long shelf life, generally a year of more), their first product launch is a group of four varieties of hummus: Hot & Spicy, Roasted Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper and Sun-Dried Tomato.

In order to make a shelf-stable hummus, certain production techniques and ingredients are required that cause the product to be somewhat different from a homemade, restaurant or refrigerated supermarket version. Thus, these jarred hummuses are drier in texture, more like a spread or paste than a dip. Citric acid, a food preservative derived from lemons and limes that is required for stability, replaces fresh lemon juice; in the process, it gives a pronounced lemony flavor to all four varieties. And like any jarred, canned or frozen product, jarred hummus lacks the vitality of something that’s freshly-made.

As a result, this hummus is different from what most people will have experienced at restaurants or “bought fresh.” Our tasters unanimously preferred fresh hummus—and we are located in an area where there is an abundant supply of it.

Still, we think there are opportunities for this product.

• If you don’t have access to fresh hummus and don’t have time to make your own, try them!  We wish there were more garlic in the Roasted Garlic, so unless you want the “classic hummus” experience, we’d steer you to the other flavors.
• It’s convenient to keep in the pantry, and whip out when visitors arrive for a glass of wine. While pita chips are nice, hummus works with any cracker, fresh-sliced or toasted baguette, bagel chips, etc.
• We really like it as a base for canapés. Spread some on top of a cracker or bread round and top it with absolutely anything: sliced olives, red pepper strips (fresh or roasted), hard-boiled egg, salami, sliced heart of palm, capers, shrimp, scallops, rare roast beef, chicken.... It’s a tasty “mortar.”
• It’s a good spread for vegetarian and vegan sandwiches. Add grilled vegetables and try our favorite flavor, Hot & Spicy (not too hot, just a nice amount of cayenne pepper).
• Keep a jar at work for the late-afternoon or evening munchies. It’s nutritious food, good protein, and much more rewarding than a bag of chips from the machine.

We applaud what brother and sister David and Melanie Koroghlian are attempting in this space, and look forward to trying their next product. 

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