A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to choose something from CSN Stores to try out and review. As soon as I saw the Magic Bullet as an option, I ordered one right away. I’ve always wanted a food processor for the simple fact that I wanted to make my own hummus from scratch!
My Magic Bullet arrived and I went online to find a hummus recipe. I found a simple one from http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/hummusbitahini.htm.
The recipe called for:
I had to go to 4 different stores before I found tahini! With the help of my Twitter friends, I found it near the nut butters in the health food store.
I followed my instructions…
Preparation:
Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.
Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well.
Hello hummus!
It looked good and creamy! Unfortunately it was probably the worst hummus I’ve ever had! I tried it a few times because I really wanted to like it. I hate throwing out food. I dipped some cucumbers in it…
I topped my veggie burger and salad with it last night for dinner….
I even licked it straight off my spoon just to make sure I hated it! Hummus—FAIL!
First of all, it was not creamy at all. Did I blend it too long? I think I only did it for 20 or 30 seconds. The first thing I tasted was garlic. Too much garlic. Then I decided it had absolutely no flavor…or just some really weird throw up flavor. So sad. I know cooking something new takes some pratice but I didn’t think hummus would be very hard. This is where I need your help. Please comment with some hummus recipes! I’ve seen some of you make delicious looking hummus so I need a tutorial. I’m obviously not an expert in the kitchen. Thank you! For now I will continue to eat my Sabra.
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Such a bummer! Now that I think about it though, my homemade hummus didn’t taste as hummus-y as I had hoped the one time I made it. I’m all for making stuff from scratch but truly, no one can do it like the gods at Sabra can.
But isn’t the Magic Bullet AH-MAZING!?
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As a Middle Eastern girl who dreams of recreating her late grandmother’s hummus, I’ve spent hours in the kitchen trying different variations and methods of making them – and I’m still not satisfied. First of all: Homemade hummus will never taste like Sabra unless you use citric acid and a buttload of salt. I think a lot of people go into the hummus making process expecting it to taste like what they’re used to from the store and are immediately put-off when it doesn’t. Second of all, true purists will insist you use dried and soaked chick peas instead of the canned kind, but which I admit does yield a better consistency, but I’m lazy and I use canned chick peas. I am usually wary of recipes that call for the liquid from the can, because there is nothing authentic about that – where it calls for the liquid you should probably stick to olive oil instead (for flavor AND texture purposes), and you should only add in the liquid after you’re done blending and you decide it’s not creamy enough, and then this should be added one tbsp at a time so as not to destroy the texture accidentally – but lemon juice or olive oil are preferable to the canning liquid. Also, it sometimes (usually) takes longer than just 30 seconds to blend to the fully creamy consistency, especially in a Magic Bullet. You might need a minute or more (for me, usually more). To me, one of the most important factors in creating the proper texture is actually to do a two step blending process – blending HALF the chick peas with half of your oil oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice, flavorings, etc, then adding in the rest of the chick peas and slowly drizzling in the olive oil to blend (difficult in a Magic Bullet, I know). Hitting on that “flavor combo” that is right for you is a little difficult and tricky but I say don’t give up. I’ve learned that I prefer my hummus SANS garlic, which is potentially blasphemous and making my grandmother roll over in her grave, but that’s what works for me – if you tasted too much garlic, just use less, or even use roasted garlic, since raw garlic is incredibly intense.
…wow I didn’t know I had so many opinions on hummus. Hah. Good luck!
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Missy Maintains Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Wow thank you! I think I need to print out your comment and bring it into the kitchen with me!
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Ilana Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
sooo … I forgot, after I went on a whole tirade about the chick pea juice, about Gena of Choosing Raw’s wonderful “digestive friendly hummus” http://www.choosingraw.com/digestive-friendly-hummus/ which is made using the chick pea canning liquid in place of tehina. While the flavor isn’t quite authentic, it definitely works out nicely and comes out very creamy.
And “Veganomicon” suggests pulsing/blending slowly, taking time to stop at intervals to stir the mixture around so everything gets blended evenly, which can sometimes be a problem in a Magic Bullet, so that would probably help your texture problem a bit too.
Haha now I think I have to go make some hummus.
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Ahh I definitely want a Magic Bullet! I agree with the above poster that plain canned chickpeas probably aren’t as good as dried ones for creaminess!
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I want a magic bullet. I had one and gave it to my ex (stupid me) i have a rocket blender that is SO not the same thing!
I read ilanas comment i was pretty much going to suggest not using hte liquid from the can. Olive oil sounds much more tastier!
I had a pretty awful babaganoush experiment and my friend advised me to use peanut butter int he mix when i should have used MAYO. But with trial and error you can make the perfect hummus!
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Oh sad day! I’ve had dinner fails before, so I feel your pain. I’ve never made my own hummus, but I think I should try it out and follow Ilana’s instructions!
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Ilana Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Do it! And let me know how it goes! Really, any recipe that calls for chick peas, tahini, lemon, olive oil, garlic, and spices should probably work.
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Hey girl! I’ve totally had hummus mishaps, too. This is probably one of my favorite go-to hummus recipes (there are tips for making Roasted Red Pepper and Cilantro Lime hummus, too):
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1626829
So delicious, IMO. It doesn’t even call for tahini, but you could put some in there, I’m sure. Good luck!
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hey atleast the magic bullet was free! right!?
haha the one and only time i’ve ever made hummus it was HORRENDOUS! never again did i try haha i’ll stick to buying my own
i do know the magic bullet makes fabo pina coladas haha
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oh no!! thats so sad.
i think it needs to get thicker (more chickpeas) and chill before it has the right consistency. hope that helps? otherwise, sabra is a pretty legit backup
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My favorite hummus recipe is from Tosca Renos Eat Clean Cookbook! It is delicious!!
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For some reason, all of my hummus attempts have been semi-fails. I think it may be because most recipes call for too much tahini!
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I usually use my food processor and drizzle the olive oil in as it’s mixing.I also roast my garlic and sometimes use lil bit of onion powder,too.Also,I like to use cannelini(sp?) beans with the chick peas sometimes.:-)cc
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haha i do that SAME THING! if I throw out food (which I hate to do) I try it again just to really make sure I do not like it!! when I make hummus I always throw in some parsely…i also use canned garlic not the cloves, because they have a sligght roasted flavor, where as the cloved garlic can make it taste bitter! i also add a bit more tahini than the recipe calls for!! keep trying! i know you will make a killer hummus!!!
the magic bullet is aaammmaaazinggg~
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That sucks. I hope your next try is more tasty!
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I’ve been wondering about the magic bullet. I had a similar experience looking for tahini to make my own hummus. Once you get a good hummus recipe, try this chicken recipe. It’s one of my favorites! http://www.fitandfabliving.com/index.php/high-fiber/1851-hummus-chicken-and-brown-rice.html
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never attempted homemade hummus, but oh baby I love my magic bullet!!
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Oh no! Based on that recipe, I can’t really figure out where it went wrong…? But it looks like you got some good suggestions from other commenters.
I have a Magic-Bullet-like blender, and I LOVE it! It makes making smoothies so much easier because the clean up is *like that* (rather than cleaning an entire blender). So even though you had a hummus fail, I think you’re going to love the Magic Bullet
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Aw! Too bad your hummus attempt failed.
I love to whip up hummus creations. I have blogged about a couple of my favorites:
Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus
Jalapeno Hummus
Yum-O!
(I included photos and recipe/instructions.)
I’m sure you’ll get the hang of hummus in no time!!
Healthy hugs,
Michele
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Boo, I think it took me 5 times before I got the hummus just right. My friend makes the best hummus in the world, I’m waiting for her to show me how.
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[...] Follow this link: Hummus Gone Wrong | Missy Maintains [...]
I LOVE my Magic Bullet!! I think I know why the hummus didn’t taste good. Are you used to getting your hummus at restaurants/grocery stores? They are always PACKED with sodium, and you only used 1/2 t of sodium in your homemade hummus (for the entire batch). I would try a bit more sodium (yes, I said that!! haha, not like me to say add more sodium). It will probably taste better
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Missy Maintains Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 9:11 am
You are probably right! I think I will try sea salt next time since it has a stronger salty taste for less salt.
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I’ve had quite a few icky hummus experiences and I totally feel your pain–it seems so unfair that something that should be so simple can actually be so hard to get just right. A few tips I’ve found that help:
1. If your tahini isn’t super fresh (like, you’d lick it off the spoon) you can replace it with a few teaspoons of sesame oil in the recipe. I know, olive oil and sesame oil! But at least they’re good oils…
2. A dusting of cumin helps things taste right and brings out the other flavors.
3. I used to replace the can liquid with plain yogurt, watered down a bit if it’s super thick, and it made the hummus nice and tart. I can’t do that anymore (dairy intolerance, boo hoo) and I miss hummus made that way.
Hope this helps–and if not, Sabra to the rescue!
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That’s why I’m always deterred to make my own hummus at home. The ones from my favorite Israeli restaurants are just too good.
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You made some respectable factors there. I seemed on the web for the difficulty and found most people will go together with with your website.
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