War & Hummus

You can read all about the Hummus War here. And here. And here and here.

(by the way notice that the last article from ynet refers to a gathering of garlic-lovers, despite garlic being an optional ingredient in hummus.)

It is rather disheartening to find that hummus, long touted (along with food generally) as being the only agent potent enough to bring Arabs and Jews together, is now becoming the cause de guerre of a geo-political conflict involving Israel, Lebanon and a suspicious British organization (in this case that Guinness Book of World Records).

The back-and-forth in this conflict ranks pretty high on the petty meter. If I were Lebanese, I'd sure be peeved that Israel is becoming synonymous with hummus. But at the same time trying assert national provenance for a dish reaching as far back in time as hummus is either foolish or futile. And we can always count on the Israelis to instigate. Please remember: This isn't the Golan Heights people! You can both be heirs to great hummus. I suppose one ought to be pleased that this war is being fought in the kitchen and not on the battlefield but still, where is the love?

What's funny is that when it comes to food, it's not about size but quality and flavor. A better way to wage the Hummus War is to prepare and deliver a tastier product. It's safe to say that in that war, we'd all be victors.

For what it's worth, the best store-bought hummus I've tried in the States came from Abu Gosh in Israel and was made by a company called Sabra. As for Lebanese hummus, I've yet to see any in my grocery store.