On Jun 24, 11:05 am, "Somebody" > wrote:
> So after deciding it was too pricey at Rainbow Blossom, I went to the
> Kroger. Scanned the "ethnic aisle". (I didn't realized there was a British
> section, and German section there till then.) Anyway, no luck. And nothing
> in Health Food area that I could find.... So asked stocker, and he said
> "aisle tin". So I went to aisle ten which was the ethnic section where I had
> just been. The stocker happened by again and I said I was in this aisle
> before and didn't find any. He smiled and said "you want me to do
> everything" I thought that was a bit rude, but he did show me a couple
> places with the long sought thin. As he showed me, he said "when people see
> the price they usually walk away." (Not a great salesman, that one.) So I
> looked at both and they were a bit high, 8.99 for Peloponnese and 6.47 for
> Joyva. I opted for the cheaper since not sure either's rep. And they are 15
> servings so that's not really that expensive per serving.
>
> Got home and realized I forgot the garlic. Is fresh that much better than
> roasted in a jar?
>
> Also, when I open the tin can of tahini, about how long will it keep? Maybe
> I can/should freeze 1/2?
>
> Oh, another neophyte question. What's the difference between extra light,
> light and pure olive oil? They all had the same nutrition label info, even
> down to sodium amount. I assume the lighter tastes less olivey?


Not being sarcastic, but you really ought to take these questions
to the food group. Ok, I see your post here too.

I would use fresh garlic, lots of it - a matter of taste. I
would also look up a recipe by pumping "hummus recipe" into the google
bar in the group and maybe it'll take you to some past recipes. I
would not copy the recipes to the letter, just look at them to get an
idea of the ratio of this food to that. I use nearly a full bulb of
garlic to 4 heaping tablespoons of hummus. I put the garlic in a bowl
and smash it up with the stick (mortar and pestle) till it turns to
butter, about 150 turns, but worth it. I also know it can be done by
blender and in fact is done that way most often as my way is the old
fashioned way and I haven't used it in a long time. You make the
garlic butter, then heap on the tahini (gotta stir it up pretty good,
a chore, and if the bottle is long and thin you're going to need a
longer spoon). I'm sure if you look up the recipes you'll get a bunch
of them. My advice is to ignore the elaborate ones. I grew up on
hummus. My grandparents and their relatives were all good cooks. So
I'm telling you these are the ingredients - the basic ones - and there
is no need the first time out to try to go beyond.

Some people prefer more tahini to beans. I prefer slightly more
beans, a thicker mix. Sometimes I'll buy the Whole Foods brand which
is not bad but not as thick as I like, and I'll soften up a small can
of garbonzos on low hear for half an hour and rinse them off then mash
them up and add either some or all of them to the Whole Foods
mixture. If it gets too thick, add cold water or a bit more lemon.

Two cans 14 and 1/2 oz or thereabout garbonzo beans
4 heaping tablespoons tahini
1 or 2 lemons
A bulb or so of garlic depending on taste
Salt

Now, once the hummus is made you can sprinkle the top with cayenne
pepper if you wish. In the future you can try other ways, but the way
I'm telling you is the most basic. I have never used the blender but
would like to. The mortar and pestle method is a pain in the ass. I
do know that most people I know who make hummus do like to take the
beans and rinse them really good till there is no more scum coming
from the can. Pour the beans in a bowl and continue rinsing till
clear. Then put the beans in a pot and bring to a boil, then lower
and let simmer for half an hour. They are already cooked, but this
softens them up for mashing.

Once you make the garlic/tahini/lemon mix it is time to take the beans
and mash them with a masher, then mash them even finer with a fork.
They will be soft and easy to mix. Then you mix the beans with the
other mixture and whip it together. It will taste lots better after
it's been in the fridge a while. I advise asking the food group
people for help on this but remembering to ignore the ones that get
too elaborate and go too far beyond the 5 ingredients I have
mentioned.

If you use the blender you can do everything at one time, no need for
the heavy chore of the mortar and pestle. Unfortunately I have never
used a blender to make hummus and cannot help you in that regard as I
don't want to steer you in the wrong direction.

Using the old method (which I do not necessarily recommend, although
it does produce some good tasting stuff), I cut up the garlic into
pieces and pour some salt over them. The salt helps make it easier to
crush with the stick. You keep mashing the garlic while rotating the
bowl and working the stick around the edges till the garlic turns to
butter.

Then add the tahini and stir with a spoon. As you stir you will
notice it turns clumpy and hard to churn. That is when you add some
lemon. You will find the lemon softens it up and makes it more
creamy. Add more lemon and it will become creamier still. If you
don't want more lemon but want the mix a bit creamier, add cold water,
but just a bit at a time. When the mix is thin and creamy where you
can stir it with a fork and it's the consistency of wheatena or some
other hot cereal (even though it's cold), that's the texture you
want. When you add the beans to the mix it will thicken up.

Take the warmed beans and put them in cold water just a bit and drain,
then mash with a masher. Then put the beans on a large plate, a bit
at a time if necessary and work them from one end to the other with
the tines of a fork till they are ultra smooth. Then take the bean
mix and pour the tahini mix over it in a bowl and whip it together and
there it is. Or, if you're too lazy (nothing wrong with that), go to
Whole Foods and get their house brand, which is not a bad one. Do not
get just any brand at Whole Foods - they have lousy ones too - it has
to be their house brand. It's not as good as homemade but it's the
closest I've seen yet to the real thing.

TJ