Hummus Made with Dried Beans Is Better Than Canned

Published on Thursday, June 16, 2011, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

Donna Sky, owner of the Love & Hummus Co., shares a quick tip for those of you who make hummus at home. In fact, two tips: One is that dried beans are best. And that old tin of baking soda may have just found a whole new purpose ...

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  • The notion that dried beans are always superior to canned beans is a prevailing culinary myth, in my opinion. It is similar to the idea that fresh herbs are superior to dried herbs (which all depends on the application) or that fresh tomatoes are superior to canned tomatoes (which again depends on the application, not to mention the tomatoes in question.)

    Re-hydrating foods can have the...+READ

    The notion that dried beans are always superior to canned beans is a prevailing culinary myth, in my opinion. It is similar to the idea that fresh herbs are superior to dried herbs (which all depends on the application) or that fresh tomatoes are superior to canned tomatoes (which again depends on the application, not to mention the tomatoes in question.)

    Re-hydrating foods can have the advantage of intensifying flavor. You see this a lot in Asian cooking, with ingredients such as dried shrimp and dried mushrooms, which really pack a punch when they're re-hydrated. However, it again all depends on the application, and I don't think hummus is a strong candidate for needing intensified bean flavor.

    That would, however, be the only reason I can see for using dried beans, and that's not what this video suggests. This video suggests that the texture is improved (more creamy, less gritty) by using dried beans rather than canned. In my opinion, a creamy texture can be achieved in a number of ways, first and foremost, by blending your hummus for an extended period. (The addition of yogurt also helps.) I am skeptical that re-hydrated beans are necessary to produce this result.

    There may also be a difference in the quality of different canned beans, though I have yet to see much variation when it comes to garbanzo beans. But I would be surprised if a taste test would find a well-made hummus using canned beans to be any different from one using dried beans.-COLLAPSE

  • If you take the canned beans rinse them, and poor them out on a lightly oiled or non-stick jelly roll pan and roast them for a few minutes, they wil flavor up very very nicely.

  • Gee, what a news flash, cooked dry beans better than canned? Sacre bleu! Sorry if I sound snarky, but that should be one knowledge that all hounds have. Not to say you shouldn't use canned beans, they're a huge time-saver and a godsend in a pinch, but everybody should know the difference by having cooked some from scratch and also tasting their canned equivalent. It oughtta be a law.

  • The problem with canned beans is that you don't know how long they've been 'in the pipeline' - old beans are mushy and may have off tastes.
    OTOH dried beans can be stored much longer without decline in flavor, not sure about nutritive value.
    BTW this video doesn't address the most common issue - is removing the translucent husks mandatory or not?

  • It tastes better.

    Actually, that tends to be true with beans in general - cooking dried beans gives you a better tasting end product than canned, plus you get tasty bean broth as a side product.

  • why is it better with dry beans please?