Take a Dip into Tablet’s Hummus Coverage

There’s no two ways about it: hummus, an institution of Middle Eastern cuisine, is delicious. And business, particularly in the U.S., is booming. According to The Wall Street Journal, hummus, a “healthful snack,” which falls into the grocery category of “refrigerated flavored spreads,” reached $530 million in sales in 2012 alone, a 25% jump from 2010.

And it appears that hummus’ international popularity has reached a fever pitch, as today, May 13, is the 4th Annual International Hummus Day. About hummus, the event’s Facebook page states: “Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The more the better.”

The event was conceived in 2012 when Ben Lang, and American-Israeli entrepreneur, “modeled the celebration of the popular Middle Eastern chickpea dish on another popular food holiday: World Nutella Day,” reports the International Business Times. “But Lang saw in hummus something the Italian hazelnut-chocolate spread did not have: a special potential in helping to change perceptions about Israel around the world.”

So let’s use this official “holiday” as an excuse to eat more hummus than usual, and to re-visit some of Tablet’s excellent hummus-related coverage. This round-up includes: hummus that comes in a squeeze bottle, as well as the recent recall of 30,000 cases of Sabra hummus after listeria was detected. (PepsiCo, by the way, owns a 50% stake in Sabra.)

— Lemon Lover’s Hummus (A recipe!!)

— Sabra Hummus Recalled After Listeria Detected

— The Big Squeeze

— Benjamin Netanyahu Is Addicted to Ice Cream

— L.A.’s Jewish Top Foodie

— An Intervention Letter to Kate Moss

— Dip of Nations

— Food Fight

— Make Dip, Not War

— Sundown: Lebanon Is Hummus Champ

— Of Hamas and Hummus

— Israeli Food Big in Japan (Alright!)

— Jamie Geller, the ‘Kosher Rachael Ray,’ Dresses Up Simple Family Meals

— Can the ‘Jerusalem’ Cookbook Bring About Peace?