A recent post by Donnie from the “Eats History” YouTube channel featured a hummus recipe. This was the oldest written hummus recipe he could find. However, he clarified that people in the Levant have been making and eating hummus since the Bronze Age. He wrote, “The recipe is called Himmas Kassa. At 773 years old, it just scored a 9.4 out of 10 in my kitchen.”
He says the historic recipe calls for “Chickpeas pounded into a thick paste. Tahini. Fresh lemon juice. Garlic. Salt. The core recipe has not changed in 773 years.” Ingredients make a huge difference when you try to replicate traditional dips from other cultures. If you opt for prepared hummus, always check the ingredients and choose the one that comes closest to this recipe.
Ingredients and the ways dips and spreads are served can make a big difference. While the base hummus recipe from circa 1250 is what we might make today, it included an interesting garnish worth a try. After the hummus is plated, it is drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with chopped parsley and pistachios, and scattered with crushed rose buds and cinnamon across the surface. And like so many hummus presentations today, a few whole chickpeas are served on top.
Mediterranean and North Africa
Dips and spreads are abundant in Mediterranean and North African foodways. Think Italy, and you can smell pesto and warm, garlicky bagna càuda. From Spain, enjoy the rounded flavor of romesco sauce.
From the Greek mezze table, we find Taramosalata with fish roe, baba ganoush from eggplant, fava dip, skordalia with potato and garlic, whipped feta, and of course, tzatziki. In tzatziki, we found that the big difference between our homemade version and the packaged product is the quality of the yogurt. We use yogurt made only from milk and live cultures, whereas commercial products often contain many additives.
Latin Flavors
One of our favorite Latin flavor enhancers is Peruvian aji amarillo. We use this not just for dipping and saucing but as a seasoning for soups, stews, and fish chowders. Chimichurri sauce from Argentina is better known. Perhaps the best-known dips these days are still guacamole and salsa from Mexico.
Asian Sauces and Dips
Penny adored her Filipino uncle, Al, and regrets that he never introduced her to banana ketchup. While we think of ketchup as one flavor, other cultures have their own take on the term. He did teach her the importance of using a wide variety of vinegars as sauces or dips to add zest to food.
Korean cuisine relies on many sauces, ranging from gochujang to Ssamjang. A meal in Thailand is not complete without side dishes called nam jim, or dipping sauces. Prik nam som, nước chấm, and peanut sauce are three to try.
Indian cuisine is known for chutneys, raitas, and pickled condiments. JChinese is known for the flavors of their many regional cuisines, from oyster sauce to hoisin and chili oils.
Dips of all types are great warm-weather meal makers. You can dip into a cuisine by ordering ethnic takeout, collecting or making a number of dips and dipables from one culture, or making your own version of a popular dip for a potluck. We suggest the 13th-century hummus! We also suggest you follow “Eats History” on Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.
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