Hummus Comparison – Which One To Choose?

Hummus is a chickpea paste originating from Middle Eastern cuisine. It has become very popular all over the world, not only with vegans and vegetarians but also amongst meat-eaters. The perfect hummus consists of chickpeas, sesame paste (tahini), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil or other oil, and a variety of spices. Can we find that exact same composition in hummus found on store shelves?

How to choose a good hummus?

A good and tasty hummus should contain as many chickpeas as possible, after all, they are the base of this spread. After that, the ingredients should list tahini and lemon juice are added – natural lemon juice, not in the form of citric acid. It’s also worth looking at the type of oil used in the hummus product, with the best being extra virgin olive oil due to its good quality and high content of monounsaturated fatty acids. When it comes to spices, they don’t significantly affect the quality of the product, but they affect the taste, so in this case, you should be guided by your preferences.

What ingredients should you avoid in ready-made hummus?

You shouldn’t find preservatives, starches, and other thickeners in ready-made hummus. Why? Manufacturers like to save by adding more water to the finished product. This means that the hummus will need to be thickened with starch or other thickeners, chemically obtained substances that are not necessarily safe for our body.

What’s in the ready-made hummus ingredients?

All the hummus we compared contained a lot of food additives on top of the standard ingredients that should be in hummus. The amount of chickpeas in the compositions we read ranged from 47 to 86%, which shows how large the discrepancy can be in the composition of the same product. In addition, only one of the eight hummus uses natural lemon juice (Black Swan Hommus Dip), but most additives have also been added to this brand, including:

• thickener (466) – this is carboxymethyl cellulose, which may cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and gas. People with a sensitive stomach should be careful with this food additive.
• preservative (211) – this is sodium benzoate, which may cause allergic reactions. It is especially dangerous for asthmatics because it can increase the severity of symptoms.

Summary

Unfortunately, from the hummus we examined, we didn’t find a particular brand that we want to recommend. Obela hommus came closest to getting our recommendation. We assessed this brand positively due to its short and simple composition, high content of chickpeas and other ingredients, and small amount of food additives (citric acid, 202). The producer should refine the line-up to perfect this hummus.

When we find a hummus product that we can recommend, we will definitely share it with you all. Not everyone has the opportunity to prepare meals at home, and you need help from ready-made products sometimes. In such situations, it’s definitely worth looking at the composition of the product you buy.

We may share our hummus recipe, with 100% natural ingredients, here on our blog. If you are interested, let us know in the section below.

The hummus products that we have looked at:

• Pilpel Hummus 200g
• Obela Hommus 1kg
• Coles Dip Hommus
• Black Swan Hommus Dip
• Pureland Hommus Dip
• Dainty Food Sabra Houmous Extra Dip
• Willow Farm Dip Hommus 200g
• Yumi’s Traditional Middle Eastern Hommus Dip 200g