Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, faculty and alumni took time off from derivatives and friction planes to sample hummus and pita in the school’s first annual Hummus Taste-Off yesterday.
The hummus tasting was organized by MIT Hillel and was one of a series of events planned for the university’s Independent Activities Periodtime between semesters when students can explore non-academic interests.
“Programs during IAP range from ice-skating trips to this, the Hummus Experience,” said Eliad Shmuel, program director for MIT Hillel and organizer of the Taste-Off.
The Hummus Experience consisted of a blind taste test, lessons on hummus-making and a tour of a hummus factory.
Hummus is a vegetarian spread made from chickpeas, sesame oil, garlic and other spices blended together into a dip, typically served with pita bread. Middle-Eastern in origin, its popularity is as widespread as its recipes are varied.
“[Hillel] always does a tasting of some kind, and this year we decided that since hummus is such a favorite dish, it was time for hummus,” said MIT Hillel director Miriam Rosenblum.
Brightly colored signs with the slogans such as “All we are saying is . . . give chickpeas a chance” covered the Student Center and drew in the crowd.
“My friend saw the signs all over campus, and since he knows how much I like hummus he told me about it,” MIT alumna Faaiza Rashid said. “I was very excited to hear that this would be an actual event for IAP.”
Tribe Hummus representatives handed out samples of new products and hummus swag.
The main event was the taste-test of four different brands of hummus: Tribe, Sabra, Joseph and Trader Joe’s. Participants were given score cards to rank the hummus according to appearance, texture, smell and taste.
“I’ve been making my own hummus since I was a kid,” said MIT environmental safety professor Bill Trabilcy. “I was never hardcore enough to cook my own chickpeas, but I still love it. It’s interesting to compare brands because I usually just eat my own.”