I love hummus but I'm lazy and rarely make my own. I really enjoy the Sabra brand flavors - normally found with the cheeses, milks, etc in the grocery store.
I agree I love the Sabra Garlic Hummus. Cedars used to be good too.
I don't find it fast or easy to make hummus. it's a mess.... totally.
Yeah I actually prefer store brought brands to the pain of making it at home. Very few store brands have artificial ingredients so I'm fine eating it. Forgot to mention Trader Joe's brands are good also. I applaud those who make it from scratch but just not worth it to me!
As I said, I think store bought is fine but if my first introduction to hummus was store bought, I don't know if I would've ever eaten it again. I don't know why, the taste doesn't go well with me and I've tried many brands. But overall, I'm obsessed with hummus
Oh and I've heard if you have a regular blender, you can use a mason jar with it, although I haven't tried it. I have a magic bullet blender which I use for things like smoothies and hummus.
I've never peeled my chickpeas when making hummus. Hm. Never even thought about it. I do rinse them out of the can because I think the liquid they're in is a little briney.
I also just throw mine into the Cuisineart mini-prep chopper thing and it's the perfect size for one batch. Takes me less than 5 mins to throw in a can of beans, a couple T of tahini, a squeeze of lemon, and a few garlic cloves. Sometimes I add a splash of olive oil, sometimes not. A quick whirl, and it's done.
If you want to skin the garbanzos first (I only do this for "company hummus") then put the beans in a large bowl and cover with a lot of cold water. Then stick your hands in the bowl and rub the beans between your hands vigorously. The skins will float to the surface. Scoop them out of the bowl and keep doing this until hardly any skins come up the the surface. Much easier then doing it bean by bean and it makes for smoother hummus.
Not only do store-bought hummus brands usually have more fat than they need (I do add a bit of olive oil to my homemade hummus), but they usually substitute cheaper non-olive oil. A bit of olive oil will be in there, but way down on the list.
If you try it and it doesn't thrill you, just remember that you can definitely vary the proportions. You may prefer more or less tahini, garlic, lemon juice, etc.
I was referencing what Primm posted prior to myself about skinning garbanzos. I just thought I'd share my experience on an easy way to do it.
Skinning does produce a much smoother/creamy hummus. It's a pain, which is why I only do it when I'm making hummus for a party. It's completely unnecessary for everyday hummus as far as I'm concerned. Primm mentioned the skins are bitter, although I don't find this to be true. I was just throwing a method out there, if anyone felt inclined. Sorry for the confusion.
And yes, I cook my garbanzo from dried beans, but canned ones will still have a skin as well.
I make mine from canned beans - rinsed but with the skins. I drain the oil on the tahini and add a little bit of 0% Greek yogurt to make it extra creamy.
I have bought both Sabra and Cedar's - I thought they were both pretty good, though not as spicy as I like.
And, like many reviewers of this recipe have said, stuff it into a pita. Then I crisp the pita up in the oven. It's one of my favorite pita sandwiches.
Sorry for the confusion.
