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 This dish of sliced fish, stuffed with soft burger made out of minced fish, was originally made as a solution to this religious challenge.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
The Best Hummus Video Yet
Just in case you wondered – we go over YouTube and other video sites in search for new stuff on a regular basis. Rarely do we find anything exciting that is suitable for this blog.
Elahn Zetlin‘s recent video was a pleasent surprise. Not only because it’s main theme is Abu Hassan, the hummus guru from Jaffa, but because it really captured the Jaffa’s (and Tel Aviv’s) special atmosphere. Watch this superb video, than go on reading.
The funny thing about Abu Hassan is that it isn’t really his hummus that made him so famous but rather his Msabbha (click to read more about this great dish). Read more
A Nosh of Hummus at New York’s Nanoosh
With pale wood paneling, recessed green and blue tiling, and lighting that dims as the night progresses, Nanoosh’s atmosphere is far from that of most Israeli hummus joints. This is, after all, Manhattan’s upper west side, just a stone’s throw from Lincoln Center. But the restaurant’s Israeli owners have ensured that the neighborhood’s residents and theater-goers can get hummus Israeli-style, as a main meal rather than just an appetizer served with triangles of pita. Read more
Even GOD eats hummus in Tel-Aviv
Hummus is gradually becoming one of the Middle-Eats most successfully exported cultural-products. Very much as a result of tourists who experienced it while in the region, and became missionaries. It looks like even god eats hummus when he visits Tel-Aviv, and you know how powerful he is, when it comes to the publics opinion.
We got this movie, by Assaf Billet, showing just how much god favors hummus over other dinning options.
The Hummus War has Begun
Last Sunday, the Hummus Was has finally began. Unlike other wars, this one is going to be fairly harmless, because the fighting will be done by means of marketing, advertising, giveaways and special prices.
Calcalist is the #3 business publication in Israel, a relatively new and small newspaper. It’s a very mainstream, nevertheless, so it usually deals with mainstream business news – nothing like that main headline on August 3rd. The headline said: The Hummus War.
It’s seems like a very common news item: two major local companies fighting over a market. The point is that these two companies, Osem and Strauss, are fighting over the American hummus market. Read more
The Yemen Power: Zhuk (plus recipe)
Zhuk, a Yemen paste of hot green peppers, is one of the hottest things to spice your food with. Very easy to make, and there’s also a story.
Until 1493, the only pepper outside the American continnent was the one we know today as “black pepper”. And when Christopher Columbus brought the first chilis to Europe, no one seemed to care.
It took some 150 years until the old world came to it’s senses, but after that the tiny veg was caltivated and quickly spread to all Europe (espcialy Italy and Hungery) and from there to North Africa, the Middle-East and Asia, where it was engineered into over 2000 species and varaieties of peppers, and dozens of different spices.
Hot peppers are very common in all Midlle Eastern cuisines, where it is eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. In most hummus places in Israel and Arab countries, hot peppers are an integral part of the course – fresh or as part of a sauce of some kind (NEVER as one of the hummus ingredients).
In some places the hummus is served with Tatbila, a thin sauce from ground green peppers with lots of garlic and lemon. Many Israeli hummus places serve it with Harif (“hot”), a local variation of the North African sauce called Arissa, in which red chilis are the main ingredient. Read more
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