Babs van der Stack, an expert with the Consumers Association on Health and Nutrition, studied 78 types of hummus in supermarkets. “You see more and more flavors like beetroot, avocado, roasted vegetables, mango and pumpkin, you can think of it pretty crazy. I was really curious about the composition. What goes with the original recipe?”
Traditionally, at least seventy percent of chickpeas and fifteen percent of tahini (sesame seed paste) are present in chickpeas. Some lemon, a pinch of salt and oil should coat a little later. “The composition of hummus in the supermarket is very different from the original. But half of it is chickpeas, and it has a little tahini, a lot of oil and a lot of salt.”
Hummus in the supermarket is unhealthy
As a result, hummus in the supermarket is often unhealthy. “Variants with vegetables work better with regard to health and those with lower quality fruits. The vegetable variant gets an A, the type with fruit A.”
Making it yourself is always best, but this takes time. “The traditional method is to soak the dried chickpeas overnight, add some baking soda, filter it…and then you have to start the recipe!”
