Lebanon has fired another salvo in the Great Hummus War, with more than 300 chiefs preparing a 10-plus-ton plate of the chick pea paste over the weekend in a successful bid to win a new world record.
A representative of the Guinness Book of World Records who was present for Saturday's event confirmed the weight of the mixture at 10,452 kilograms. The dish in which the mixture was made also won a record for the largest earthenware dish, according to the AFP news agency.
In a rapid-fire volley aimed at destroying Israel's grip on the Middle Eastern culinary export market, Lebanon also announced it would attempt to win the world record on Sunday in falafel-making – an especially stinging insult to the Jewish State, where falafel reigns supreme as a snack food on the street.
Lebanon already had set the record for making tabouleh – a cold bulgur-wheat salad made with fresh chopped scallions, mint leaves, tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice – last year.
This past January, Israel wrested the title of of World's Largest Serving of Hummus from Lebanese chefs across the northern border, whipping up a four-ton vat of the chick pea dip.
Israel's experts on the subject, 50 Arab-Israeli chefs of Abu Ghosh, prepared the dish for the Guinness Book of Records this past January, breaking Lebanon's October 2009 record of a two-ton serving of the chick pea paste. Abu Ghosh, restaurateur Jawadat Ibrahim told the AFP news agency last January, is considered “the hummus capital of the world.”
But Lebanon, a stated enemy of Israel, has accused the Jewish State of theft by exporting millions of dollars' worth of hummus made with what it claims are “exclusive” traditional Lebanese recipes.
The dish is made with chick peas that are cooked and then finely mashed together with tehina (sesame paste), olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic and a touch of freshly-ground cumin.
Hummus is one of the most common snack foods served in the Middle East, and when offered with whole wheat pita, it is considered a whole protein by vegetarians. It is often included as a “shmear” in the other immensely popular Israeli snack food, falafel in a pita.
Recipes for this and other dips can be found on the Jewish Recipe Forum at Israel National News.