Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Style Hummus Review

Surprisingly not great

Hummus has been associated with Trader Joe’s for at least as long as I remember shopping there – and that’s about three decades. It was one of the first places to carry it and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was instrumental in popularizing it. That said, I rarely buy hummus at Trader Joe’s as my trips to TJ are sporadic, and hummus is more of a staple at our house.

Still, hummus is surprisingly expensive in he US, so when I saw this 16-oz tub of Mediterranean Style Hummus for just $4, less than the price of the 8-oz tubs at the supermarket, I had to get it. Alas, I’m not a fan.

The couscous came with pine nuts and dried parsley on top. The latter was just too bitter and didn’t add a good flavor to the hummus. The pine nuts add crunch, but that’s not what I’m looking for in hummus. the hummus itself was too sour and it’s borderline bitter, it just has too much lemon juice. It’s almost to the point of burning my throat. For that reason, I wouldn’t get it again.

A good, solid hummus

I wasn’t a huge hummus fan back when I first tried it, during my year abroad in Egypt. I much preferred tahini by itself. Over the years, however, hummus has grown on me, and I often have it as a snack. I’ve tried a lot of different brands, and I can’t say that any of them stand out. Then again, why would they? Hummus is just a mixture of chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste) and oil, with some salt, lemon juice and garlic for flavor. There are, of course, a wide array of flavored hummuses – but I prefer the traditional.

Organics is one of the home brands for Safeway/Vons supermarkets (currently owned by Albertsons, slated to be sold to Kroeger’s). This O Organics traditional hummus was pretty good, though not special. It’s smoother and has a less chalky consistency than other commercial hummus, and a it features a brighter lemon juice flavor – even though lemon was listed as the next to last ingredient. It also does contain citric acid. The flavor was smooth, and it seemed to have a good ratio of chickpeas to tahini. It uses canola oil, which is not the best, however.

At $6 for the 10-oz tub it’s on par with other supermarket hummuses (which have become quite expensive lately), but I bought it on sale for $4. I’ll get it again when it’s on sale, but I wouldn’t pay full price for it (or for hummus in general – there is usually a brand on sale, or I can just get it at cheaper stores).

Tag: hummus