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Many masticating juicers are sold with the claim that they can also make nut butters. Seeing that chickpeas are easier to crush than roasted nuts, I wondered if they can also be used for hummus or other legume pastes. I searched around, but only found 1-2 links and a video from an Australian juicer manufacturer who suggested this use.

If the answer is yes, then the subquestions are:

  • what features should the juicer have to make sure it is suitable for hummus? Does every juicer that says "makes nut butter" also make hummus, or do I have to look for other special features?
  • What can I expect in terms of effort and quality to get results? Can I just pour the ingredients and gather the output, or does it require some kind of fiddling to get everything right? How smooth and creamy is the resulting hummus? Does it work with standard dryish recipes (1:10 tahini:chickpeas) or do I have to use more fat as a lubricant to see results?

The background is that I have been thinking of getting a slow juicer, but the price and counter space deterred me, seeing that I don't drink juice frequently. But if it can make good hummus, this will probably tip the scales.

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    Is complete smoothness a goal? I've found the best hummus to have a little bit of texture, and you can do that with a food processor. But it may be that what I thinking of as best was superior in flavour to the others, and the texture was incidental
    – Chris H
    Jun 13, 2018 at 11:39
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    @ChrisH I only have a pulsing food processor, and making hummus with it is rather tedious. Also, having the option to make either chunky or smooth hummus is nicer than being bound to only one kind. And, if the answer to my question is "it makes hummus, but roughly the same quality as a food processor", that's still an interesting piece of informaiton.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Jun 13, 2018 at 12:52
  • Personally I like a smooth hummus and use a blender rather than a food processor (to excellent result). I feel like using a juicer may make it harder to control the consistency, but I haven't used a juicer in a while so I definitely can't comment with authority. Also homogenising the hummus may need to happen in a mixing bowl once 'juiced'
    – ljden
    Oct 7, 2020 at 9:38

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In the meantime, I do have a masticating fruit juicer, and I am quite happy with the results it produces, including hummus. The skins of the chickpeas are somewhat a problem, but either peeling them or cooking with a pinch of soda in the pressure cooker is sufficient to get a very creamy hummus.

I still use the food processor for small portions, because the masticating juicer is a PITA to build up and then clean, but making large batches of thick hummus and freezing them turned out to be a good strategy. I also have to note that I make the hummus much thicker than standard, a bit claylike, and either eat it as-is (because I sometimes enjoy the texture that way) or mix it with more oil or liquid after it has thawed, saving space in the freezer. And the juicer works much better for this thick hummus than the food processor, which has trouble moving the substance around at that viscosity. For that, and for the general quality of hummus overall, I am very glad I got the juicer.

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  • I find removing most of the skins to be fairly easy with a few extra steps. After soaking and cooking the chickpeas with a healthy pinch of bicarb and salt, drain the chickpeas and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, rub submerged chickpeas between your hands to dislodge the skins and pour out most of the water through a strainer. Most of the skins will run out of the bowl with the water as they are lighter than the chickpeas themselves. Repeat this process a couple times till you either aren't getting many more skins off or you're not bothered to continue. :) Makes for a very smooth hummus
    – ljden
    Oct 7, 2020 at 10:15
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    The type of chickpea also makes a difference, in Australia we have Ord river chickpeas which are by far the best for a smooth creamy hummus
    – ljden
    Oct 7, 2020 at 10:16

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