Just smelling it (and then tasting it) is enough to immediately understand that hummus belongs to the Middle East: its unmistakable aroma of sesame, legumes, and spices makes this particular dip one of the most beloved products in the world, as well as one of the most celebrated dishes of Middle Eastern cuisine. Creamy and thick, easy to make at home with just a few ingredients—mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, oil, salt, garlic, and ground cumin—hummus is a hit with everyone, at least in terms of flavor.
The story changes when it comes to the origins of this specialty: despite being the quintessential sharing dish, best served at the center of the table so everyone can share it using a piece of pita or unleavened bread, it's one of the recipes that has sparked the most controversy regarding its invention. As you know, over the centuries, all the peoples of the Mediterranean have "contaminated" each other, which is why it's easy to find very similar, if not identical, recipes in many Mediterranean countries (see couscous, which has also become a Sicilian specialty).
This is precisely what happened with hummus: the recipe is typical of Levantine cuisine (the area of the Levant), and therefore of countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Southern Turkey, and Palestine, but it is also found in the rest of Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus. Given this premise, it's easy to understand how difficult it is to pinpoint hummus's precise origins. Indeed, its origins are so disputed that they have even sparked a sort of gastronomic "war." Let's try to shed some light on the topic and also analyze the enormous popularity of hummus in recent years, even in Western countries.
Hummus' Ancient History and Origins
Over time, virtually every Mediterranean country has claimed the invention of hummus, from the Lebanese to the Turks, Syrians, Greeks, and Egyptians. Let's be clear: there's no definitive answer: it's unclear exactly which people first invented this creamy sauce.
What is certain is that it is a very ancient recipe, also because chickpeas are among the first legumes cultivated by man, present in the diet of cultures dating back more than a thousand years. Tahini, a fundamental element in the hummus recipe, is also very ancient, already present in 13th-century Arab cookbooks, but the combination of these two ingredients remains a mystery. There are different theories on the matter, obviously: some believe hummus originated in Turkey, since it was there that the very first chickpea species were cultivated. Others believe, however, that its invention coincides with the first written attestations of the recipe, one in a 13th-century manuscript attributed to the Aleppo historian Ibn al-Adeem, which would therefore attribute hummus to Syria, the other in manuscripts from the same period found in Cairo, Egypt.
Disputes over the origins of hummus have sparked heated debates between Arab countries, the most famous of which is known as the "hummus war," between Lebanon and Israel. This notorious dispute has even become a matter of cultural and gastronomic appropriation, so much so that, in order to resolve it, an international day had to be created to remind everyone that hummus is actually a symbol of unity and sharing.
The “hummus war” was sparked by several incidents: first, in 2008, Lebanon accused Israel of cultural appropriation because Tel Aviv was marketing hummus as an Israeli recipe. This sparked a full-blown copyright battle, which eventually turned into a sort of culinary challenge to see who could make the biggest hummus, aiming to enter the Guinness World Records. Lebanon initially held the record with a 2,000kg hummus; Israel quickly responded with a 4,000kg hummus, and then in 2010, Lebanon reclaimed the title with a 10,450kg hummus. At that point, Israel began selling postcards to tourists declaring hummus “Israel's national snack,” and the controversy reignited.
The conflict between the two states became so heated that it became the subject of the documentary Make Hummus not War (2012), in which director Trevor Graham tries to bring attention to the unifying aspect of hummus. In the same year, precisely to put an end to these conflicts, Hummus Day was established, the International Day dedicated to hummus, to be celebrated every 13th May: the aim was precisely to unite all the people of the world, especially those in the Middle East, under the banner of this creamy goodness. And to remind everyone that gastronomy should be a means of unity, not of further division.
How Did Hummus Spread to The West?
In recent years, hummus has experienced a global diffusion, taking it far beyond the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin, transforming it into a well-known and beloved recipe even in the West, giving rise to countless variations. How did this widespread diffusion occur?
There are several factors that caused it:
- the ever-increasing attention towards healthy eating, of which the Mediterranean diet is considered the greatest exponent, and the spread of vegan and vegetarian diets that seek plant-based protein alternatives to products of animal origin;
- the great versatility of hummus, which makes it ideal as an appetizer or snack, as an ingredient in other dishes or used as a dip, as well as being adaptable to everyone's tastes because, instead of chickpeas, many other foods can be used to prepare it (for example avocado, beetroot or peppers);
- the ease with which it is prepared (it requires very few ingredients and a few minutes of preparation) and the long shelf life which allows it to remain intact for several days without spoiling;
The ever-increasing demand has led Western supermarkets and restaurants to make hummus readily available, thus helping to make it familiar and accessible to an ever-wider clientele.
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