21 Minutes of immense Pleasure

If there ever was a special Emmy award for hummus related TV, this episode of Good Eats would have definitely won. Until that happens, the award is all yours. Watch this video.

In most countries (including Israel) people are not familiar with this TV series, but in the States, Good Eats is a very popular cooking show. It is broadcast on Food Network since 1998, and every child knows the mad scientist character played by Elton Brown.

Unlike other cooking shows, which concentrate on explaining how to prepare food, Good Eats also explains why. The show presents the science and technique behind the cooking, the history of the different foods, the benefits and differences between ingredients and cooking methods, and everything else you would expect a crazy scientist to know.

Every episode has a theme, which can be a dish, a cooking method, a holiday or an event. Episode 14 in Season 14 was dedicated to hummus – both the legume and the paste.

In this episode, Brown analyses, among others, some very critical questions, such as the amount of time needed to soak the chickpeas, what does the Sodium bicarbonate do to the hummus, or what amino acids in the Tahini make the combination with the legume into a nutritional treasure. There are also some non Middle Eastern recipes.

In short, make time to watch this. You’re up to a very delightful experience.

April 30, 2011 | Filed Under All Recipes, World of Hummus | 4 Comments 

Legumes in Passover, and more

Or: why is it a Mitzvah (religious commandment) to eat Masabcha in Passover. Also: what did our ancestors knew about cannabis that we still don’t know?

“Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Perachyah says: make yourself a Rav (teacher), acquire for yourself a friend and judge every man favorably”
Pirkei Avot, chapter 1, Mishna 6

First of all: no, it’s not really a Mitzvah to eat Masabcha in Passover. That’s part of my own interpretation of Judaism. Plus you can eat it without pita bread – an awkward thing to do with hummus. That’s because I, like most Jews, don’t eat bread (or pita bread) in Passover. Only there are some people who also don’t eat legumes in Passover – which is really too much if you ask me. Read more

April 25, 2011 | Filed Under Stories & Anecdotes, World of Hummus | 2 Comments