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
Sweden: the Nordic hummus superpower
Sweden is quickly becoming the Nordic superpower of hummus. Not only can you eat hummus in Lebanese restaurants in Stockholm, but you can find packaged hummus from Sweden in supermarkets all over the region.
Us Israelis, have a long history of special relationship with the Swedish people. They saved a lot of jews during WWII – for which we repaid in excess consumption of TV shows based upon classic Swedish children literature – from Pippi Longstocking to The Moomins to Astrid’s Emil to Nils Holgersson.
Not to mention the unbelievable popularity ABBA had here, up until today I think. Read more
New Guinness Record: SMALLEST hummus plate ever
Spread the word: a new Guinness record was set, and this time it’s Israeli. The smallest hummus plate ever is 39mm in diameter, with 14 grams of superb Israeli hummus. Bit that.
Asstonished from the recored-breaking 2 ton hummus plate from Lebanon, we decided it’s time The Hummus Blog will set a record of it’s own. Since we Israelis were always pioneers in miniaturization, we thought it’s makes sense to set the first Guinness record for the smallest hummus plate.
Ladies and jents, may I introduce our 39mm hummus plate, containing 14 grams of hummus. 300 Lebanese chefs were needed to break the record for the largest hummus plate. We only needed ONE!
We used 5 chickpeas, 1 teaspoon tahini, 1cc lemon juice, 9 drops olive oil and VERY little salt and garlic. Garnished traditionally with papparika, cumin and one chopped parsley leaf, our ultra-miniature hummus plate was ready to eat in less than 15 seconds. Read more
The new Lebanese Guinness record and how it made me famous
Many journalists, Israeli and from abroad, has contacted me lately, asking questions about the so called “Hummus War” I’ve been covering here, and also in the highly popular Hebrew edition of the blog. And when the new Lebanese Guinness Record (a 2-ton hummus plate) was declared the flow of attention doubled.
Some of you probably wondered what I have to say about the new hummus guinness record, set by 300 Lebanese chefs. WELL, the first thing that pops in mind is this: never have so many did so much for The Hummus Blog.
In the past two weeks search traffic to this blog went through the roof, with blogs as well as large news sites linking to it from all over the world.
Ynet, the largest news site in Israel asked for a special column. Other local newspapers and radio stations interviewed or asked me to comment about the matter. Some foreign journalists also called me, including French24, and a BBC reporter who, sadly, tried to reach me in the middle of a rock concert. Read more
Omri Casspi: I miss Hummus!
At the age of 21 he is a national hero, on his way to the NBA. So yes, Omri Casspi may be living his dream, but nothing would make him happier now than a large plate of hummus.
Yohuy Eilam, Forex Crunch blog.
People are looking up to Omri Casspi. It’s not only because of his height, 6-foot-9. Casspi is the first Israeli basketball player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. He will most probably be the first Israeli player in the NBA, playing for the Sacramento Kings.
Casspi is now living his dream and enjoys life in California. At the young age of 21, he already became a national hero, even before playing his first game with the Kings.
Yet there is one important thing that the big man misses in his new home: Hummus.
The young 225 pound man said that there’s no Hummus in the US. When the Times reporter insisted that the chickpea spread can be found in grocery stores, Casspi dismissed it, and remained loyal to the original and fresh Hummus from his motherland:
“Man, I tried it; that’s all I can say,” he said last week during a break in the Kings’ summer league schedule. “I will bring some from Israel, maybe. I’ll let you taste it and you tell me.”
Middle Eastern hummus is quite different from the chickpea spread that’s available in the US. The American hummus might be adapted to the American taste, or it may have not evolved to the excellent taste of hummus that’s available in Israel and throughout the Middle East.
I guess it’s rather hard finding tasty hummus in a relatively small city such as Sacremento. Maybe Casspi will find good hummus in larger cities. When the season starts, Casspi will be traveling across the USA and Canada, and may be more lucky. What do you think?
With this statement, Casspi combined the national pride of reaching the NBA with the national dish. Maybe Omri Casspi will bring some good hummus with him on his long journey and put humus “on the map”.
Photo cc-by-aa 3.0: Yuval.
Hummus is on the Rise
More and more people worldwide are searching for Hummus. According to Google Trends, the search for the chickpea spread is rising all over the world.
Yohuy Eilam, ForexCrunch
Google Trends is a tool that gives excellent indication about search trends, since it’s run by the #1 search engine on the internet, and practically the world’s number one website.
Since the internet is used everywhere, Google Trends gives a good indication of market trends also outside the virtual world. We can assume that the global demand for humus is growing as well. More people are becoming acquainted with this superb dish.
As you can see in the graph, the term humus shows a steady and significant growth from 2007 to 2009. The growth in search traffic for the term hummus is even stronger. Is the spelling with two ms taking over the spelling with one m?
Apart from the growing popularity of hummus on the net, we’re seeing the strongest growth in unexpected regions and in languages that aren’t normally associated with the Middle Eastern dish. Read more
Rice and Chickpeas: a Recipe with a Story
Rice and Chickpeas casserole is one of the best dishes of the Jewish cuisine, and there’s also a nice story behind it. Zeev Galili, our dad, writes about it’s origins and gives the only true recipe.
Every ethnic dish has a reason. The motivation behind it’s invention could be religious, historical, social, economical etc. – but there’s always a “reason” and there’s always a story.
For example, have you ever wondered how and why was Gefilte Fish (stuffed fish) invented? The fascinating answer is that separating the fish from it’s bones in Sabbath is forbidden according to the Halacha (Jewish law). This dish of sliced fish, stuffed with soft burger made out of minced fish, was originally made as a solution to this religious challenge. Read more
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