One Hand Clapping

This is a continuation of earlier experiments in making hummus that is soft and creamy.

Today, I tried another route, a tip given to me by the cook at M’shawsha, one of the best hummus places in Tel Aviv, and also some advice from a couch surfer on the P.I.T.A. group.

Based on past experience, I soaked 1 cup of chick peas in 3 cups of water and 1 tsp baking soda overnight. I then rinsed the beans a couple of times, and using a small espresso cup pressed the beans to loosen up their skins. The idea was to be able to get the skin off the beans before grinding. This advice came from P.I.T.A.

I also added to the cooking water 1 tsp baking soda, then simmered the beans for 90 minutes, skimming the foam that collected at the top. This is the tip from the hummus joint.

The effect of the baking soda was amazing – the hummus beans/peas nearly melted in my mouth, and this is definitely the way to go towards making a hummus you can mash by hand. As a matter of fact, I am going to try with less baking soda next time, since there is no need for the beans to be SO soft.

The presence of the baking soda makes the skins glutinous and soft, so while the treatment with the cup helped more skins separate, it is not necessary – the skins with the baking soda were so soft as to not matter.

It also apparently released some sulfur compounds from the beans, as evidenced by the dark spots on my aluminum pot, and the darker hue (Aluminum sulfide Al2S3? probably not, as it is supposed to be yellow, but maybe another oxide of aluminum or another metal sulfide). Since these products are from the beans, their extraction is not too important, but still, I prefer not to digest black liquids that come from my cooking equipment. So for now, I will not use much cooking liquid in making my hummus (with beans so soft, it probably won’t be necessary anyway). And next time, will use half the amount of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). And use a stainless steel pot, not an aluminum one…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Hummus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.