For Creamier Hummus, Skin Your Chickpeas | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

FAQs

For Creamier Hummus, Skin Your Chickpeas | Cook's Illustrated? ›

Transfer the beans to a large bowl and wash with three or four changes of cold water, all the while agitating the beans vigorously between your hands to release the skins, which will float easily away. Easy, creamy hummus? Yes, please.

Chickpeas - or garbanzo beans, they're the same thing - have a very thin skin on the outside. You can eat chickpeas with the skin on, but they're better without. When making hummus, removing the skins will make your hummus much creamier and rich.

The key to smooth and creamy hummus

It doesn't need to have oil added to it, except a little on top, to be mixed in - or not - as desired. But it does have to be excellent extra virgin olive oil. Great hummus needs a decent amount of tahini. Not just a tablespoon or two but lots.

Tahini is sesame butter, and to make creamy hummus, the secret is to first turn that into sesame cream! To do that, you need to emulsify the tahini in a water based liquid first. This will not happen if you just put everything into a food processor all at once!'

Technically, no. You'll still get great hummus without peeling the chickpeas. But if you want the absolute silkiest texture, peeling does make a difference. It takes about 10 minutes to peel a can of chickpeas.

It is not necessary to remove the shell of the chickpeas, the decision is up to each one. In fact, many do not know, but nutritionally it is recommended to eat the chickpea skin.

If you want to make something smooth and creamy, like hummus, it's a good idea to take your soaked chickpeas, put them in a big bowl of cold water, and rub off the skins before cooking them. Like all beans, the older your dried chickpeas are, the longer they will take to cook completely.

The fiber in the skins is useful for our digestive system, although some feel it contributes to flatulence if your system is not acclimated to them… meaning, the bacteria needed to digest it is not plentiful.

While fiber is essential for digestion, too much can be hard on the digestive system. Peeling chickpeas can make them gentler on the stomach. 2. The skins of chickpeas contain anti-nutrients, such as phytic acid, which can inhibit the absorption of certain minerals.

The Ice Cube Trick for Hummus

For extra light and fluffy hummus, adding an ice cube to the hummus mixture before blending helps incorporate air into the mixture. Only add an ice cube if you're using a heavy-duty blender or food processor that can handle chopping ice.

Why do you put baking soda in hummus? ›

Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the chickpeas helps make the legume easier to digest, softer, and makes them easy to peel. Don't skip this ingredient! Lemon juice: I never suggest using pre-bottled lemon juice, but I especially urge you not to in homemade hummus.

To some degree it depends on who you ask, but mostly Israeli-style hummus is smoother and creamier than most of the hummus you find in your grocery store. It has a lot more tahini — a paste made from sesame seeds — in it than some other Middle Eastern varieties of hummus.

Overcooking the chickpeas in water with baking soda makes them easier to blend. Puréeing the chickpeas while they're still hot lets you use a blender instead of a food processor for smoother texture.

Buy dried chickpeas and cook then with a little baking soda. The baking soda breaks down the skins. No peeling. Super smooth hummus.

If you are using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them with water to cut the sodium (salt) content by almost a half. Rinse well in cold water to make them easier to digest and less gas-producing.