The food industry, with its massive production of uniform foodstuffs, seems to be at odds with the manual preparation of local specialties. But the chickpea dip 'hummus' owes its popularity as Israel's national, artisanal dish precisely to such industrial mass production.
Hummus is an indispensable ingredient at celebrations in Israel and one of the foods that Israelis abroad most miss. A tub of factory hummus, such as is also on the shelves in the Netherlands, is useful, but it does not compare to the only real, traditionally prepared hummus that you can get all over Israel at hummusiyots, or hummus shops.
Israeli sociologists Dafna Hirsch and Ofra Tene argue that these often-repeated contradictions of industrial, uniform fast food versus artisanal, authentic slow food are wrong. Because the research they publish this month in the Journal of Consumer Culture shows that it is the food industry that has put hummus on the map as an authentic Israeli specialty.
Hummus in Israel
Researchers Hirsch and Tene delved into the national archives, analyzed more than 1,000 newspaper articles about hummus, and walked around hummus factories and hummusiyots. They also interviewed industry bosses, hummus aficionados and culinary critics to explain the popularity of hummus among Israelis.
They found that the love for hummus as Israel's national dish is as young as the State of Israel itself. Before 1948, hummus was unknown among the Jewish residents of Palestine. The dish belonged exclusively to Arab cuisine. But there was hardly any room in the new state of Israel for Arab Palestinians, they fled or were violently expelled.
Conversely, at the time, Jewish residents from all Arab countries fled to Israel. It was they who brought hummus recipes and put them on the map in new Israeli restaurants.
Ad campaign
The dish was already popular at the end of the 1950s, but it was far from a national love. That changed when the Telma brand launched cans of hummus in 1958. Telma's advertisements first featured hummus as "Israel's national dish." This is how Telma's advertisement text in 1958 read:'Knish of verenikas. Not all your guests will know these Eastern European dishes. But everyone eats hummus with great enthusiasm – hummus, the national dish of Israel'.
'Telma hummus' became a huge success and in 10 years the company sold 15 million cans, out of a population of no more than 3 million people in 1968.
During the same period, industrialization was one of the spearheads of government policy in Israel. Especially products from the food industry were therefore given priority when it came to showpieces from Israel's national cuisine. At cultural exhibitions in various countries, where Israel presented itself as a new state, cans of hummus stood ready to represent Israeli food.
Authentic competition
Following Telma's success, other companies also entered the Israeli hummus market. They also emphasized the 'typical Israeli' character of their canned hummus in advertising campaigns. In addition, the number of hummusiyots, which sell traditionally produced hummus, also grew.
The large food manufacturers did not push the small artisans off the market, Hirsch and Tene emphasize, but made their existence possible. The food industry stimulated national consumption and love for hummus, which also increased the appreciation for freshly prepared hummus from the hummusiyots.
It is the food manufacturers who now have to compete with the authentic image of the local hummus chef. Enthusiasts regard factory hummus as an inappropriate, synthetic version of the 'lovingly prepared' hummus from restaurant kitchens. Advertising campaigns from the hummus industry are therefore now emphasizing the authentic character of their own hummus recipes and, for example, entering into collaboration with local, often Arab, chefs.
Global local
Also on the international market, the industry bosses have an interest in defending the authentic image of hummus. Hummus has become a worldwide export product in recent years and Israeli producers also benefit from this. In the global market, hummus is so successful because it can rely on a specific local identity. Nice, 'something special' from a far country on the sandwich, so a product like hummus can also be sold to the Dutch.
Globalization makes it possible for more and more goods and information to be quickly available anywhere in the world. Scientists have been aware for some time that this will not make us the same everywhere. The famous Golden Arches East study by anthropologist James Watson, for example, already showed that the same McDonalds restaurants acquire their own meaning locally.
Hirsch and Tene argue that the example of hummus also shows that local variation remains important within processes of globalization. However, this is not about local reactions to globally distributed goods, but about the global distribution of products with a local identity.
Strong together
Israel has some competition when it comes to claiming hummus as a national specialty. In 2008, Lebanese industrialists urged their government to persuade the European Commission to grant protected status to Lebanese hummus. As with Greek feta, only Lebanon should be allowed to use the term hummus. The Israelis would then have to settle for a name such as 'chickpea paste' on the European market.
It is not there yet, but in the meantime Lebanon and Israel are trumping each other in the battle for the world record 'largest bowl of hummus'. In October 2009, Lebanese chefs broke Israeli rule by preparing 2,000 pounds of hummus. In January 2010, Israel hit back with 4090 kilos of hummus, but now the world record is again in the hands of Lebanon with a scale of 10,452 kilos, a number that represents the Lebanese territory of 10,452 km 2 represents.
Images of Israel's "largest bowl of hummus" record in the town of Abu Gosh. A cook can already be seen preparing hummus by hand, but according to Hirsch and Tene, the bowl was really filled with hummus from a local factory.
The 2010 Israeli record attempt was organized by restaurant owner Jawadat Ibrahim in the Arab-Israeli town of Abu Gosh, known among Jewish Israelis only for its quality local hummus. But he worked with the factory of 'Miki Delicatessen', which supplied huge quantities of plastic barrels of hummus. In addition, Israeli flags adorned the battlefield to teach the Lebanese a lesson. Once again, it appears that the interests of industrial and artisanal food producers as well as Israel's international and national identity collide in hummus.