The Ultimate Store-Bought Hummus Taste Test
We tend to not give much thought to hummus. It's just chick peas ground up and mixed with some other stuff, to be eaten with pita or baby carrots as a healthy snack, right? But hummus has a long history, and there are plenty of brands of it on the market, some tastier than others. We put eight to the test, and were left with one top choice.
The Ultimate Store-Bought Hummus Taste Test (Slideshow)
Whether you spell it hummus, hummous, houmous, hommos, humos, hommus or hoummos, all hummus is prepared basically the same way. The standard formula involves mashed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and garlic, with differing ratios of each giving each variety its own special twist. Some boost the garlic, others the tahini, which others leave out the tahini altogether, like the most basic one sold by Trader Joe's.
Hummus has been eaten in the Middle East since at least the 13th century, and is renowned for its health benefits. It's a complete protein when eaten with pita (which makes it a hit with vegetarians), and it's high in iron, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. It's also incredibly versatile; it's just at home inside a falafel sandwich as it is next to the Doritos on the snack table.
Not all hummus is created alike, however, so we decided to put eight varieties of plain hummus to the test. We tested the most popular brands, like Tribe and Sabra, but also one lesser-known ones, like Abraham's and Yorgo's. In the end, there was one clear winner.
In order to judge the hummus, our tasters sampled each brand blindly, with the option of pita or baby carrots to scoop them up. They were judged primarily on flavor, but texture, creaminess, smell, and overall enjoyment factor were also in play.