A dip of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, a staple of the mezze table across the Levant and wider Middle East. Its exact place of origin is genuinely contested among the countries of the eastern Mediterranean, each claiming the dish as a national one; the Oxford Companion to Food treats it as a shared regional dish rather than crediting a single point of origin.
Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the approximate date of the earliest documented recipe resembling hummus, in a 13th-century cookbook attributed to Ibn al-Adim of Syria; the basic chickpea-and-sesame ingredients were eaten across Egypt and the Levant for centuries before this, but evidence is insufficient to fix a precise time or place of invention. Origin RegionEastern Mediterranean (exact country contested) 2 Sourced to the subject's own accountIsrael, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and other eastern Mediterranean countries and communities each claim hummus as a national dish; the documentary record is insufficient to fix a single point of origin. Origin Period, To (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the end of the 14th century, the last point hummus-like chickpea and tahini recipes are attested in written cookbooks (Cairo, 14th century) before a centuries-long gap in the documentary record until an 1885 Lebanese cookbook; exactly when the modern dish took its present form cannot be fixed more precisely. FAQs
Why is hummus spelled so many ways in English?
English has no settled spelling: hummus is the main one, with hommos, houmous and hoummos as variants.
English spelling of the word is inconsistent. Most major dictionaries from American and British publishers give hummus as the primary spelling. Some American dictionaries give hommos as an alternative, while British dictionaries give houmous or hoummos.
Connections
Expresses Tradition
In Cuisine
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Open Questions
Source Hummus (Wikipedia)
Uses Ingredient
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014entity record, SubLabel (course)
SubLabel: Dips and Spreads
- In Cuisine: Middle Eastern Cuisine
- Uses Ingredient: Olive Oil
- Uses Ingredient: Garlic
2. Hummus (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOrigin and history
Although multiple different theories and claims of origins exist in various parts of the Middle East, evidence is insufficient to determine the precise location or time of the invention of hummus.
Names
Spelling of the word in English can be inconsistent, though most major dictionaries from American and British publishers give hummus as the primary spelling.
Origin and history, 14th-century recipe gap to 1885
According to food historian Nawal Nasrallah, no records of recipes for hummus exist after the 14th century until an 1885 Lebanese cookbook, by which time garlic is established as a standard ingredient.
In Group: Middle Eastern and North African Dips and Spreads, Lead paragraph
Hummus (, ; Arabic: حُمُّص, romanized: ḥummuṣ, lit. 'chickpeas', also spelled hommus or houmous) (full name: Hummus Bi Tahini) is a Levantine dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
Which country or people first prepared hummus as it is known today?
Multiple eastern Mediterranean countries and communities (Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt among them) claim hummus as a national dish, but the documentary record does not fix a single point of origin; the earliest known written recipes are 13th-century Syrian and 14th-century Cairene.
What would resolve this A written recipe or reliable archaeological attestation predating the 13th-century Syrian and 14th-century Cairene cookbook records, tied unambiguously to one people or place, would settle the question; none has yet been found.
Culinary historyHummus (Wikipedia)
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.