Houmous.

[Serin]

Am I being unreasonable to think there must be more than one blimmin houmous factory in the whole of the UK?
Its never coming back is it ?
I've tried making my own and it's a faff (and horrible).

Thanks Lulu.

@Lulualla

NOoooooo! Save that. It’s called aquafaba, the water from the chickpeas. You can use it as an egg replacement to make merengues for vegans or those allergic to eggs.

As an aside does it make a big difference if you used tinned or dried chickpeas?

If you find it isn't 'right' you can add tahini. Take it easy and taste until it is how you like it.

Is this peak Mumsnet? YES!

High fives all round

wanders off to get hummous

You need to go to places that do proper hummus ie Middle Eastern supermarkets / Costco / Waitrose.

@LaurieFairyCake
Where are you that there is no hummous?
There is gazillions of it in London

I've not read all the replies but there's been a definite hummus shortage here! (UK)
Seem to have been wiped from the shelves due to a salmonella type outbreak.
We lurve the stuff and usually get from Aldi or Sainsburys but not been able to find lately!

Loads in greater Manchester! But for what it's worth, a tin of chickpeas, half a lemon juice, tbsp tahini, tsp harrisa or something else you like like ras el hanout, cumin etc, generous pinch of salt and about 100ml water whizzed in a blender makes a lovely humous

I haven't managed to find any at all in several Irish supermarkets for the last while. Homemade is nicer but I'm usually too lazy.

The best supermarket hummus is Moorish smoked hummus. I don't like the Sabra one, which DP finds amusing as I'm a bit of a food ponce that likes things to be authentic so I probably read about Sabra being the best ready made version, bought some and didn't like it. I do usually like restaurant hummus which presumably is usually home made or maybe they just buy giant tubs from the cash and carry.

I didn't know that there was a shortage, we only buy it occasionally although now I want some and CBA going off on a wild goose chase if the shelves are empty. Also we have some home made butter bean and red pepper dip in the freezer that needs using up that will do as a substitute if I'm desperate.

Shop bought Hummus bears no resemblance to the real thing which is very easily made, takes up no time at all and the more often you make it the quicker you become. You can even use a stick blender to blend if you don’t want to wash a food processor out afterwards.

I live in the Middle East and I use tinned chickpeas for my Hummus, the liquid is used to help with consistency and I add Cumin to taste. Once it’s in the container I sprinkle smoked paprika over the top.

It really does only take minutes.

Sorry, just to add - along with the olive oil added to the main mix we also drizzle it over the hummus as well.

Also, why are there so many different ways to spell it?

As a PP said it was originally an arabic word, it is common in Greece and Turkey, Greece uses a greek alphabet and until 1920s Turkey used arabic script to write turkish.

Translating from a different writing system should follow the 'Roman' alphabet but people don't always use that. This is why at the Olympics the Chinese competitors all have names like 'Xian' - it's the Roman version of chinese script.

I have the ingredients in the house - maybe hummus for lunch today?

There was a couple of versions in Sainsbury's (Belfast) last night but they were out of all the nice flavours. It's easy to make though.

Time to try Pease pudding if you never have!

We've had no problem ordering it from Ocado.

But Sabra is so yummy and actually tastes like the stuff you get in Israel or North Africa! I’m using it as excuse to splurge on Sabra.

Not unreasonable but silly,

Homemade is lovely but you have to get the right recipe. There is plenty in the shops. Stop being over dramatic.

OP, no wonder your homemade hummus tastes awful if you're not adding cumin - that and the lemon juice are the sources of flavour as chickpeas don't taste of that much on their own. If you don't have tahini, a dollop of peanut butter makes a good substitute!

Don't add plain water. Save the chickpea water when you empty the tin and add that.

That's what I do. I think adding extra virgin olive oil makes it more sumptuous. I sprinkle the top with toasted cumin seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, but I hadn't thought of adding ground cumin to the mix. I want some now

Has anyone got an exact recipe to share? I haven't liked it when I have made my own.

My advice for homemade would be to boil tinned chickpeas until softer and temper the garlic in lemon juice.

@BalanchineBallet

I tried that once. I felt like I was whisking for hours. Totally didn't work! I know it does work... But just wasn't happening that day!

How do you temper the garlic in lemon juice @FridalovesDiego?

I CBA to soak and boil chickpeas. I used to, but ended up ruining too many pans as they had boiled dry, so I buy tinned chickpeas. I use Napolina chickpeas for hummus as they are softer and don't give a grainy result. I use cheap, own brand chickpeas for curries and cooked dishes though.

@Hippywannabe: I use a tin of chickpeas with a big dollop of tahini paste (generous tablespoonful) About a tablespoonful (even not rounded) of garlic paste/puree. Tablespoon of lemon juice. Tablespoon of olive oil. Flat teaspoon each of cumin, mild chilli powder and maybe smoked paprika. Salt if you use salt. Blend and then gradually add cold water and keep blending until it has the consistency of shop bought. Taste it and adjust the flavours. If it's too garlicky or spicy, add a dollop of greek yoghurt.