Rachel Shabi: In the Middle East, the row over the origins of hummus is growing

The hummus takeover Rachel Shabi: Israel's hummus fanatics are trying to claim the dish as their own, and the Arab world is crying foul. The Lebanese reckon that they invented hummus and want to sue the Jewish state for stealing and rebranding it. "The Israelis are marketing our main food dishes as if they were Israeli dishes," explains the president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, Fadi Abboud, adding that this is causing million-dollar losses for the Cedar economy. It's true that Lebanese hummus is the pedigree of dips, but in reality nobody knows exactly who first started making the stuff – although obviously the cuisine predates Israel. It's been eaten in the Middle East for centuries and some hold that there are references to a hummus-like substance in the Bible. Others say it appeared in the Arab world –... [read full story]