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<\/a><\/p>\nMany cuisine-related sources carry forward a folklore\u00a0which describes hummus as one of the oldest known prepared foods with a long history in the Middle East stretching back to antiquity, but its historical origins are unknown. The historical enigma is such that the origins of hummus-bi-tahini could be much more recent than is widely believed. One of the earliest verifiable descriptions of hummus comes from 18th-century Damascus and the same source claims it was unknown elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile some cookbooks repeat the legend that hummus was first prepared in the 12th century by Saladdin. Sources such as Cooking in Ancient Civilizations<\/em> by Cathy K. Kaufman carry speculative recipes for an ancient Egyptian hummus, substituting vinegar for lemon juice, but acknowledge we do not know how the Egyptians ate their chick-peas. Similarly, no recipe for hummus has been identified among the many books on cooking surviving from ancient Rome.<\/p>\nCharles Perry, co-author of Medieval Arab Cookery<\/em> notes that owing to hummus bi tahina being an everyday staple, and because of the lack of Arab recipe books published between the 14th and 20th centuries, no recipes documenting this food’s early ingredients have been found. He says the nearest medieval example recorded in a 13th century Arab cookbook, Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada<\/em> is Hummus kasa<\/em>, which substitutes vinegar for lemon, includes extra herbs and adds walnuts.<\/p>\nIt is known that the Lebanese cuisine\u00a0expanded on many of these traditions and added the various flavors of this amazing dip, creating a variety and additions like meat, pine nuts and other toppings to the dish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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