Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Largest hummus dish - Israeli chefs sets world record

 ABU GOSH, Israel -- Fifty chefs in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh mashed up 8992.5 pounds (4,087.5 kilos) of hummus -setting the new world record for the Largest hummus dish .
 Photo: 50 chefs mashed up over four tonnes of hummus-setting the new world record for the Largest hummus dish . / David Vaaknin/AP Photo
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   The recipe included 2 1/2 tons of chickpeas, 1 1/2 tons of sesame paste and hundreds of fresh-squeezed lemons, as well as crushed garlic and olive oil. The finished product was displayed on a huge dish: a satellite dish nearly 20 feet in diameter.

That is about twice as much as the previous world record set in October in neighbouring Lebanon, Israel's political and culinary rival.

   A simple but tasty dish of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, hummus stirs passions and rivalries across much of the Middle East.

  Hummus, sometimes described as one of the oldest known prepared foods, is enjoyed in much of the Middle East and has probably been around for centuries.

   Most hummus pundits agree its historical origins are lost in the sands of time, with various theories mentioning several areas of the Middle East, Rome, Greece and the Crusaders.

   For Jawadat Ibrahim, who organised the event, the roots of the popular dish are irrelevant.
   "It's something we all share and enjoy," said Ibrahim, who owns the Abu Ghosh Restaurant in the heart of the Arab-Israeli village of the same name which every weekends attracts hordes of hungry visitors, many in search of the perfect hummus.

   About 50 chefs worked side by side to prepare the massive plate of hummus set up on a specially erected platform outside the restaurant located just a short drive from Jerusalem.

  The previous Guinness world record for the largest hummus dish was set by a 4,532 pounds (2,056 kilograms) hummus plate made by Lebanese Chefs.

 The word from Lebanon is that they're already preparing to beat this record. And the word in Abu Gosh is that they're preparing to beat that record.

 Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told The Associated Press that his country plans to beat the new record in the spring with an even bigger plate of humous, to be prepared on the border with Israel. "This way they can learn how to do humous," he said.