Just how Successful Hummus is in North America

Hummus is on the rise. We’ve already discussed the rise of web searches for hummus on Google. The following examples don’t dive into stats and graphs, but show the success of hummus in North America. First, let’s look at this picture:

Thanks to shane_curcuru on Flickr for the picture.

We see here a full aisle of hummus in a supermarket. Not a shelf in the organic foods stand, not a product in a remote corner for imported goods, but a significant floor space in a regular supermarket. Read more

May 23, 2010 | Filed Under World of Hummus | 4 Comments 

The 11.5 Ton Lebanese Hummus Plate & The Zionist Conspiracy

Another Guinness record for the largest hummus plate was set by Lebanese – 11.5 tons this time. But is it possible – and I’m just thinking out loud – that some people take this too seriously?

The famous 300 Lebanese chefs did it again. Earlier this month they broke the recent Guinness Record, set on January this year in the Arab village of Abu Gosh, near Jerusalem.

The fine PR work around this new record, led – again – to an unprecedented coverage in the media.

Naturally, as the only person on earth who has not one but two blogs about hummus (including the Hebrew version), I was promoted from “only” being interviewed by CNN, BBC and such, to have been quoted as a “Quote of the Day” in TIME alongside Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, and a few others who may achieved a little bit more in their life than I.

A joke that is slightly less funny

In a post about one of the previous records (here) I already explained why I think this alleged “hummus war” is rather funny. And better yet, why it’s a great PR for hummus – even though it is anything but a genuine rivalry between Israeli and Lebanese chefs.

The Lebanese campaign of reclaiming hummus has little to do with national feelings or gastronomic pride. The question is not “who owns hummus” but who will sell packaged hummus to the American market. And I think most Israelis and Lebanese will agree that’s not even real hummus.

I still think the hummus war is one of the nicest we had in the region, and we should all wish for more wars like this and fewer wars in which people are actually killed. Unfortunately, when there’s so much money involved, there will always be people who will use the opportunity to demonstrate their politics of hate. Try this video for instance:

One of the funniest pieces on this hummus war was published last week in Asharq Alawsat, a respectable Arab Read more

May 19, 2010 | Filed Under The Hummus Market, World of Hummus | 9 Comments