TAKING SIDES: HUMMUS VS. GUACAMOLE

i love hummus, and i've never developed a taste for guacamole even though i've lived in southern california for eight years. (although i'd say hummus, or middle eastern food in general, is as much a part of the l.a. landscape as avocados.)

I think I love guacamole now more than I ever have at any other time in my life, it's just so lovely. but hummus, as observed, is a comfort food - to me it's the only comfort food that also has these moments of "holy fuck, greatest food I've ever had in my life." at its best, guacamole makes me go "fuck, this is good, this is really really really fucking good." I would be shocked if it ever gave me that "you will remember this meal on your deathbed" feeling I've gotten at least three times while eating hummus.

pointless foods both imo

you have your standard guacamole. but then you can change it up. add some radish and cojita. add some fruit! (dodges thrown tomatoes)

this is a tough choice because the enjoyment of either depends strongly on what you are eating each with, though

Chips and pita lol

FRITOS SCOOPS! (TM)

Love them both, but chickpeas make me fart like a goddamn cannon.

there's a lot of crap guac out there but on the other end it's not only so easy to make yourself, it's so easy to make DELICIOUS

i like hummus but there's also a lot of shit store-bought hummus and i have no idea how to make it myself. i wouldn't make it good. restaurants are expensive.

otoh i am terrible at determining the ripeness of avocados

http://i.imgur.com/8nKUqOq.png

that right there is a bullshit hummus

"fusion"

of the endothermic variety. Takes all your energy not to barf.

i like both goddammit

at the same time?

I love them both but I wouldn't really put them in the same category. Guac is not a meal, it's an appetizer or a side. Whereas you can make a perfectly satisfactory lunch of nothing but good hummus and pita, or you can use it as the base for a vegetable-laden sandwich. (Toasted cheese with hummus is good, too.) So I voted hummus for its versatility.

Also, bad hummus is not as disgusting as bad guacamole.

this thread is making me think i've never had real hummus

― Acting Crazy (Instrumental) (jed_), Saturday, September 20, 2014 5:19 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^is what i'm thinking tbh

i think hummus might take it for me anyway because guac is so transient (which maybe the romantic would argue is a virtue), whereas hummus can, eg, be put in a backpack and enjoyed with pita many days into the backcountry and there is not a single thing more joyful and satisfying than pita and hummus by a waterfall imo

itt: hummus serving suggestions like "a waterfall", "a rustic moroccan farmhouse"

kinda inspired by this thread i've really been enjoying this hummus recipe blog, it has some really neat ideas. i know everybody's expressed some hesitation about fusion hummuses but it seems like it sticks pretty closely to the core hummus concept, like tipsy said, just having some delicious hummus on its own as a meal maybe just with some bread & a comprehensive spread of vegetables on the side & maybe with cheese & pita by a waterfall.

had amazing hummus in Israel, many times. still voting guacamole.

losing hummus would not impact my life too much but losing guacamole = mexican food suddenly not as good anymore

when I was vegetarian, I would regularly spread a thick layer of hummus on toasted bread for a meal.

it's been six years since I've made hummus and I already have some sesame oil, so this thread has inspired me to do it tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt-bGJoRb9A

This is my default hummus:

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/sainsburys-morrocan-topped-houmous-200g

But if I'm not lazy, I'll walk up to the Mediterranean Food Centre and get theira.

guess i've not really ever experienced the true transcendent alchemy of guac in itself, i like avocados and am always happy to eat them in whatever way comes to mind, guac seems a method as good as any. could be that the english still feel mildly contrived when taking things in a mexican direction

hummus is always a comfort tho. sometimes i reproach myself for not minding the supermarket wallpaper paste stuff but at least i know the difference i tell myself. it is perhaps underrated as a complement to meat? usually when lamb chops fall into my possession i will have them with hummus and a coriander/cumin type salsa verde and watercress on the side

wouldn't go back to supermarket guac after making my own.
hummous is always good in any form but guac wins it

this is my own totopo to bear but growing up I think avocados were expensive so we didn't have guacamole at home, but I'd see it at parties and the like; and and it would sometimes have mayo: the devil's condiment in it. naturally when your soul is on the line you learn to be wary of all such green gloop, so it was only much later, when I was solvent and avocados weren't priced like gold that I could have pure guacamole, and appreciate its glory.

guacamole = cocaine, hummus = heroin. both addictive as hell.

Lol I never had either hummus or guac til college and post college

First hummus experience was a guy in my building whose dad shipped him a homemade tub

Naturally he was from a rich Boston suburb

Looking back it was of the spreadable brick mortar kind

Can't remember my first guac experience tbh

could be that the english still feel mildly contrived when taking things in a mexican direction

highly recommend getting over this

yeah i doubt doubt the real shit is delicious, just seems like a faff to find/recreate... that thomasina miers bird isnt helping

*don't doubt

it would sometimes have mayo

This breaks my heart

this is a thing in sf taquerias. not mayo, but they dilute guac with crema (Mexican sour cream)
but somehow doesn't quite seem a fair battle.
perfect guac is nothing more than mashed ripe avos, fresh lime juice, ~tiny~ pinch garlic perhaps, some salt. and if you must a wee tiny bit fine chopped onion and/or tomato.
hummus on the other hand has a lot more going on which makes it so much easier to mess up or to just make adequately. canned or fresh chickpeas? canned are fine. fresh is always better but they need to be well cooked. are you gonna peel the skin from your chickpeas to help make it PERFECTLY smooth (or run it through a food mill?); aerate your tahini before adding other ingredients to be processed? little things can help work magic to this dip/spread

XP today of all days

sour cream is fine

let's not lose sight of the real enemy

cilantro?

i've used cumin in guac before, not sure if that's abject savagery or not

Alton Brown has a recipe with cumin

hummus rules so much, guac is dull as hell

For those wondering why they can't make restaurant quality, creamy hummus, its all about producing an emulsion of tahini & lemon juice in a good blender (not food processor) before adding the other ingredients.

This recipe has some good pointers.

(though I'd halve the lemon juice used by dilution)

sour cream is fine

it's a non-trad add-in to make guac go further (to save taquerias money. pennies when they make ~400% profit already from rice/beans/tortillas).why wld you want to dilute it?
multiple xxposts

fuxc cumin in guac. cilantro's fine

i wouldn't want to add sour cream, but at least the guac would still be edible. was objecting to equating mayo with sour cream as calmly as possible.

tahini w/ lamb or beef is glorious. the full scope of guac possibilities remains unknown to me but I am v content in the reality of my hummus lifestyle

Sounds like a welcome addition to the hummus racket!

this stuff is dangerous: http://www.rootsfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Roots-Mango-Sriracha-Hummus.jpg

i am pro-wacky humus flavors; recently i had some rosemary sea salt hummus that was insane.

yeah, I am generally in favor, but the Thai coconut curry flavor from Roots is also good but impossible to eat more than a small amount. So it takes the right amount of wacky. I also love black bean "hummus".