- What is hummus, anyway? It's a dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
- The word hummus comes from the Arabic word for chickpeas. The full name for the stuff in Arabic is hummus bi tahīna which means "chickpeas with tahini".
- No-one knows for sure exactly where hummus originated, but the first mention of anything like it is in Egyptian recipe books dating back to the 13th century. These recipes didn't include tahini or Garlic, and the mixture would be rolled out and left to sit overnight before serving, so it would have been a different constituency to the hummus we eat today. That said, Palestinians, Egyptian Arabs, Greeks and other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries all claim hummus as their dish.
- I even found references to a "hummus war" - not a war with guns and bombs and killing people, but an international competition between Israel and Lebanon to see which nation could produce the biggest bowl of hummus. Israel set a world record with a 9,000lb hummus dish, but in 2010, 300 cooks in Lebanon made one which weighed over twice that at 10,450 kilograms (23,040 lb). The recipe included eight tons of boiled chick peas, two tonnes of tahini, two tonnes of lemon juice, and 70 kilograms (150 lb) of Olive oil. Your move, Israel.
- Every article about hummus talks about how "crazy healthy" is is. It's full of protein, vitamins and fibre, low in saturated fats. Hence it can help improve bone, muscle, skin and Blood health and even help prevent cancer. Not only that, but the protein in it helps ward off hunger cravings.
- On top of all that, it's an aphrodisiac. Chickpeas, experts say, contain a lot of Iron, magnesium, Zinc, and Potassium, all known to aid in sexual functions and boost energy. Maybe it's time to ditch the whipped cream and lick hummus off your partner instead.
- While the basic ingredients of hummus make it suitable for vegans, they still need to beware, as some recipes in Turkey use Butter instead of olive oil, and some recipes add a little Greek yoghurt.
- There is a restaurant in Philadelphia which serves nothing but freshly made hummus. It's called Dizengoff, after a street in Tel Aviv.
- Someone who would probably love that is Lady Gaga, who said in 2011 that she is addicted to the stuff and eats it every day.
- People in the UK eat 12,000 tonnes of hummus a year, meaning Britain has become known as the hummus capital of Europe.
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