Hummus: A Global History

Edible

by Harriet Nussbaum

Complete with recipes, a mouthwatering look at the complicated origins and rise of the world’s favorite garbanzo bean spread and dip.
 
This is a global history of hummus bi-tahina , the delicious combination of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic that we know and love as hummus. The story begins in the medieval kitchens of the Near and Middle East and culminates with hummus’s rise in popularity in the Western world at the end of the twentieth century. This book also addresses the international controversy over ownership of the dish and illustrates the extent to which hummus has been embraced by Western food culture today. Though other Mediterranean dishes have become popular in the West, none can be compared to hummus, which can be found in any supermarket and in vast numbers of eating establishments. Hummus has become a global phenomenon and our very favorite dip.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 23, 2021

Reviews

[jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

just remembered the one time i thought i ate hummus it was actually french onion dip, don't know how hummus tastes but this was a good book

[Vince Deuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy all the books in the Edible series, Hummus included. If you have even the slightest interest in food - randomly choose one from the thirty or so - you will be glad you did.

A added benefit, each volume has recipes, having enjoyed Ms. Nussbaum’s work so much, I tried one of two. They worked out really well.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the shortest book in the Edible series, and there's good reason for that. Hummus is a fully composed dish, and generally eaten as itself instead of as an ingredient in something else. Despite the short length, this felt like a fully realized, coherent, and thorough history of hummus, including a very interesting chapter about the political maneuverings around it.

[Jenina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want pillowy pita bread dipped generously in a bowl of hummus all the time

[Nadine MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

delivered exactly what it promised