DIY houmous - to make or to buy? - Food Blog

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DIY houmous - to make or to buy?

Posted at 12:02PM, 09 November 2012 by Lily Barclay - Writer, bbcgoodfood.com

Is it always worth making your favourites from scratch? Our DIY series puts shop-bought and homemade to the test - this week, houmous…

Beetroot, Moroccan, lemon and harissa - when it comes to houmous I think I've tried them all. But that's with one exception - it might sound ridiculous but I've never had homemade. Have I been missing something? To find out I decided to put homemade and shop-bought to the test…

The cost:

Cost of shop-bought houmous:
Supermarket own brand - £1.09 (100g)

Cost of ingredients for homemade houmous:
Ingredients - £3.47 (roughly 100g)

The houmous recipe I used: Healthy homemade houmous

Buying all the ingredients for the houmous was considerably more expensive than the cost of the supermarket own brand. However, the taste was significantly better and there were plenty of leftover ingredients. That said, the tahini and yogurt have a relatively short shelf life so you would need to use them up within a week or so, and there were no real store-cupboard ingredients involved.

Tip:

Put those leftovers to good use in some of these recipes:
Carrot and sesame burgers
Grilled aubergine with creamy dressing
Moroccan roasted veg with tahini dressing

The making:

I was really surprised at how easy this was to make, in fact the speed it was ready in made me suitably embarrassed that I'd never done it before. The hardest part definitely had to be washing out the food processor afterwards. This is so simple, it really is just a case of tipping the ingredients in and whizzing them up. Adding a tablespoon of the chickpea liquid a little at a time gives you really good control over the consistency of the houmous so you can get it just to your liking.

The taste:

I Loved it. I have to admit it tasted a little bit different to the shop-bought houmous I am used to, but definitely in a good way. I added more than a squeeze of lemon juice and it had a really fresh taste and just tasted light and healthier, yet the texture also felt more substantial than shop-bought. I had it with oatcakes, and used it again later to top off a falafel burger and it really made the meal feel a bit more special.

The verdict:

Knowing that you can literally whizz fresh, healthy houmous up in a few minutes is a great feeling, and I will definitely do it again because it does taste much better. I'm excited to get creative with it by adding extra ingredients like paprika or chilli. However, looking at the costs, I'm not sure if it's something I will do every time, unless I have ingredients like tahini and Greek yogurt in house anyway. That said, I'm not sure if shop-bought will taste the same to me anymore, so you never know...

Fancy having a go at making your own? Try one of our homemade houmous recipes.

What are your top tips for making houmous? Do you prefer making your own or buying it in?

Comments

Kim

9 November 2012, 7:40PM
Kim

I have tried making homemade houmous but have never managed to get the texture right. I can never get it smooth and the chick pea skin is always the only thing I can feel. Unless anyone can suggest a good tip for getting it right I don't think I would bother making my own.

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harsh1973

10 November 2012, 7:15AM
harsh1973

Definately make.... We get dried Garbanzo beans and soak them over night till they are ready to be cooked or pressure cook them using a pinch of baking soda, a chef I spoke to in Jordan recently told me of this secret which helps the beans swell up or ripen up more. I make my own Tahini by roasting white sesame seeds and grinding it with a large dash of Olive Oil. Mix the beans, tahini, garlic pods , salt, lemon , Olive Oil till it forms a good smooth paste. Serve with a sprinkling of Virgin Olive Oil and some chilly flakes and sliced olives. Delicious! Use it as a dip with juliennes of carrots and cucumbers or spread it on bread along with roasted peppers to make a delicious healthy sandwich! But best to make your own Hummus!

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Dec

13 November 2012, 2:08PM
Dec

Ive been doing hummus at home for a while now,especially as my local super market does cans of chick peas at only 25p each and the tahini paste is also cheap at a local grocer,so I find it cheaper than shop bought.I can also play around with the recipe to my own taste...

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Caroline

13 November 2012, 2:37PM
Caroline

I often make my own houmous, both with tinned and with home-cooked chickpeas. I much prefer the home-cooked chickpeas, even if it's a lot more work. I cook them in the pressure cooker, and then I remove the skins (this is where it's a lot of work!). I did it the lazy way once and didn't remove the skins, and found that the time spent on taking the skins off is well worth it! Chickpeas, tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, chilli flakes and some salt - delicious.

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Esharat

15 November 2012, 8:11AM
Esharat

Wow! Awesome your sharing! Thanks for your sharing.

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andycrofts

20 November 2012, 4:09PM
andycrofts

S'funny. Our local LIDL sells liver patÃ© in resealable glass pots - small version of a jam preserving jar, rubber ring, wire 'snap' to seal, for â�¬2.50. To buy the same jar elsewhere costs about â�¬5 - empty! I make Houmus a couple of times a year, and - surprisingly - it keeps easily for a couple of weeks or so in a well-sterilised jar in the 'fridge. It's damn delicious, but then, I always quadruple the garlic...

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frill

1 December 2012, 5:25PM
frill

Made hummus once, was extremely similar to the supermarket 's one...so I reckon that for me it doesn't worth the effort!

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gnatty

13 January, 9:42PM
gnatty

Homemade everytime for taste and texture (garlicy mmmm). Supermarket stuff is soooo tasteless in comparison. Use a hand held whizzer as i like mine with a bit of texture,but not still with whole chickpeas....

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Lyn

30 January, 3:17PM
Lyn

I make red pepper houmous on a regular basis although have never used yoghurt. roast a red pepper take the skin off then blitz in a food processor with chick peas, little of chick pea water, olive oil, 1 clove garlic, salt, lemon juice and 2 tbsp tahini paste. Its amazing and to be honest my jar of Tahini stays in the fridge chilled for ages. It so tasty and cheaper in the long run

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Stephanie Ridley Nourish

30 January, 8:55PM
Stephanie Ridley Nourish

Making your own is far more tasty and economical - I often add a cooked beetroot and a little cumin or half an avocado and serve with root vegetable crisps - always gets compliments.

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Labradorlover

31 January, 10:27AM
Labradorlover

You can make more than you need usung up all the tahini and yoghurt and freeze what you dont need then you always have some ready foethe next time it keeps the cost down too, you just have to remember to get it out of the freeze in good time.

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SueKing

8 May, 2:43PM
SueKing

I always make my own - and I use dried chickpeas which cuts the cost as well. Also tahini lasts for ages in the fridge. Chickpeas soak overnight, then simmer away for an hour or so while I do other stuff. And have you tried using other dried pulses? Broad beans, peas, etc. Yummy and cheap

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duncanwil

8 May, 3:17PM
duncanwil

I soak dried chick peas with a dash of baking powder, not bicarb as i find that leaves a strong aftertaste. Cooking time is short! I never use garlic, I never use yoghurt. Tahini lasts for ever, even out of the fridge. Be generous with extra virgin olive oil and add salt ... I normally only ever add salt to my spuds but hummous needs a bit too. I get great results even if i only use a fork to mash the chick peas and there really ought to be no need to peel them. Duncan

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Marion

8 May, 3:26PM
Marion

I have no idea why she thinks home made is so much more expensive. I always make my own hoummos, a large jar of tahini paste keeps for a long time in the fridge, and I can whizz up a bowl of it in no time. For me, better and cheaper to have home made.

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Annie

8 May, 5:10PM
Annie

I agree with Marion - chickpeas 35 - 55p a tin depending where you shop, tahini lasts ages and I only use about a table spoon for each batch, the most expensive part is the oil but you don't have to use an expensive olive oil. Hummus takes 5 minutes to make, it tastes so much better and you know what's in it!

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Nomes

8 May, 6:26PM
Nomes

Not sure why you needed yoghurt. I think this review should be redone.

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SeptimusFry

8 May, 9:23PM
SeptimusFry

First, your prices are out of this world. I note the picture shows a tin!! That is not home-made. I was going to type the reasons, but would basically repeat SueKing above. I would add that I priced out my last at about 75p/100g. Shelf life of opened tahini paste is months since it lies heavily under a pool of oil. Unopened shelf life is indefinite. A lighter hummus results from using a lighter oil, fresh peanut oil giving a lighter less-oily taste to the conventional olive oil. And anyway, the shelf life of olive oil, even unopened, is questionable in anything other than a total darkness, since the UV light degrades olive oil and gives it a rank taste quite quickly.

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