Have you ever run your finger along the side of the near empty Sabra container and wondered:

“how the heck do they make hummus so dang smooth?”

Have you then stuck that hummus covered finger in your mouth and wondered:

“how the heck do they make it so dang creamy?”

Well wonder no more.  I’ve busted two of Sabra’s smooth and creamy secrets and I’m here to spill the beans.

The naked beans, that is.

Secret #1 – You’ve got to peel the skin off your chick peas.

That’s right.  You’ve got to strip that chick (pea) down. Peel the skin off each and every one of those garbanzo babies before you go one step further into your typical homemade hummus recipe.

I had no idea. No idea until I read it in Peas and Thank You, that is.

(Thank you Mama Pea for that one.)

My friend Google tells me that many other people know this too though.

HOW AM I ONLY NOW JUST COMING TO LEARN ABOUT THIS? Why didn’t anyone tell me?!  I’ve been making hummus and/or buying Sabra and/or wondering what The Sabra Secret was for years now.

Feeling like I’ve got the brain the size of a chick pea here, people.

(and before you send the the Sabra Police after me, let me give the disclaimer that I’m not sure if this is what Sabra’s secret really is or not – me and my bean brain like to make giant leaps.)

I’m going to assume that if I didn’t know this – there are probably some of you smooth operators out there who didn’t know this either.

It is therefore my foodie duty to share the secrets of the smoothest hummus this side of the supermarket shelves with you.  So here we are. You, me and a pile of nudie beans.

“That’s great,” you’re surely thinking. “but how long is that going to take?”

Well I happen to be in a position to answer that question.

Because I timed myself.

ReadysetGO!

24:05!? That’s like my typical 5K time. Are you telling me in the time it takes me run 3.1 miles and burn 310 calories I could peel the skin off two cans of chick peas and burn maybe a whopping 15 calories?

“That’s a lot of time for peeling beans.” you’re probably thinking now. “I don’t know if it’s worth it. I think I’d rather just go for a run and then shop for some Sabra.”

Well, first of all – I made a double batch. That means theoretically, you could peel one can of chick peas in 12 minutes.

(Wanna race?!)

As an added bonus, with each skin you slip off with your thumb and forefinger you reveal a cute little butt.

Now it’s feeling worth it, eh?

That’s what I thought.

Secret #2!

The order in which you combine your hummus ingredients matters.

You need to cream your tahini, oil, lemon and salt together FIRST.

Until now, I’ve always thrown everything into the food processor at the same time.  But now I know.  And now you know too. Break down those fat molecules in the tahini and oil and make them all rich and creamy before the beans get in there and break up the party.

Naked beans go in LAST.  (and gas will probably be passed.)

(this is an especially helpful tip if you make your hummus in standard blender, PS.)

OK, who’s ready to strip down and dive right in?

I’m suddenly reminded of that moment following birth when you are first presented with your newborn baby.

You look lovingly at their sweet little face and super smooth skin and garbanzo bean butt.

Then you see those those tiny little fists and kicky little feet that they’ve been using to punch you in the bladder and wedge between your diaphragm and rib cage for the last 8 weeks.

You are then left wondering how something so small and seemingly innocent could make such a giant racket.

I have no idea either. Freaking bean skins.

Before we wrap this post up, let’s get back to that “is it worth it?” question.

(scale zero’d, silky smooth hummus weighed.)

Survey says? 1 lb, 10 oz (or 26 oz) of hummus.

I pay $4.99 at my local Wegmans for the “Family Size” (or 17 oz) vat of Sabra… that’s about $.29 an ounce.

I got two cans of garbanzos for $.79 a piece at that same Wegmans. Add in other ingredients like one lemon, 2 Tbsp tahini, 1/2 c canola, 2 cloves of garlic and a couple shakes of salt – let’s generously round up to $3 for this batch of homemade hummus.

$3 for 26 oz of boneless, skinless hummus works out to be $.11 an ounce.

Put away your calculators – I’ll save you from all the conversions.

It’s like I got a tub of Family Size Sabra for $1.87 and 24 minutes of my time. And I got to look at 3,490 cute little butts.

My math says that’s worth it.

My stomach says it’s time for lunch.

My brain says “wait! Take a picture before you take a bite! Sheesh, lady.”

Now you can run your fingers along your plate to scoop up any remaining hummus. Just be careful not to eat all 26 ounces in one sitting. That whole thing probably has 3 bagillion calories in it. You only burned 15.

Linked to Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade