3

I found many Chumus recipes online. The general gist is to cook the chickpeas for a few hours (or let them sit in water for a day, then cook them), grind them, add water/oil/Tehina/lemon juice, and salt/pepper.

The result comes out more or less chunky (not that there are pieces, but it feels thick). I've seen "professionally made" Chummus (like Sabra) come out rich and smooth.

How do they do it?

Improve this question

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
4

I like mine really smooth, so I make the whole thing in a food processor. You can use the "pulse" feature if you still want a little chunkiness, but if you want it really smooth, just process the heck out of it.

If you don't have a food processor, a blender may work too. If you have neither of those, you could try a very fine potato masher but that would be a lot of work.

For extra fanciness, I also like to top my serving bowl with a little pool of chilli oil to allow my guests to add spiciness if they wish.

Improve this answer
2
  • I grind it in a food processor, but it still comes out feeling "chunky"
    – chummus
    Aug 19, 2013 at 17:16
  • 1
    Have you tried canned chickpeas? Some people hate them, but I honestly prefer them for hummus because they are softer and tend to come out smoother in the food processor (they're also handy when you want to make hummus on short notice!). I also keep the food processor on during the whole process, and drizzle in the oil and tahini with it, which may help too.
    – jkraybill
    Aug 20, 2013 at 1:43
4

In my experience the two key factors to getting really smooth hummus are:

  1. Be sure that your chickpeas are cooked thoroughly. This is not the time to leave them al dente, you want them to be completely tender.

  2. Emulsify your hummus. Puree your chickpeas, seasonings, and a bit of the cooking water until it is thick, but smooth. Once you've got this as smooth as you can get it, slowly drizzle in your oil based ingredients (tahini & olive oil). This seems to be the most important factor, as I've made incredibly smooth hummus without removing the chickpea skins.

Improve this answer
3

This might be helpful, they use baking soda to soften the chickpeas before and during cooking.

Improve this answer
1
  • The "professional" trick is indeed to use bicarbonate of soda in the cooking water of the chickpeas. You only need very little (<0.5 teaspoon). Too much will leach the flavor out of the chickpeas.
    – Carmi
    Aug 19, 2013 at 17:40
1

One trick I've always used to "smoothen" things in the kitchen is to use a mesh strainer and a plastic bench scraper. What you do is "push" the hummus through the fine mesh of the strainer after it's been run through the food processor. This will give a very smooth texture and remove any large chunks that the processor missed.

Improve this answer
1

In order to make really smooth hummus, you have to find a way to deal with the skins of the chickpeas.

One way might be a more powerful food-processor or blender, or simply more time pureeing, to get smaller chunks.

The better way would be to get rid of the skins altogether. This is what a food mill is designed to do. It purees the soft parts of food while holding back tough parts like skins.

Or you could peel the chickpeas. One trick I heard uses two kitchen towels and a rolling pin: http://eatsblog.dallasnews.com/2012/05/paula-wolfert-smooth-talks-hum.html/

Improve this answer
0

Cooking the chickpeas in a crockpot will yield a well cooked product that will puree into smooth hummus

Improve this answer
1
  • Welcome! Do you happen to know why this helps? Also, how do you recommend pureeing the chickpeas?
    – Yamikuronue
    Aug 23, 2013 at 11:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.