I’m celebrating today because my first book is hitting the book stores! Please enjoy this preview of the contents of the book, and when you’ve done that, scroll to the bottom for a giveaway!
Oh my goodness, guys. Today is going to stand in my memory as one of the most exciting days of my life. Today is the day my book hits the stores and is officially for sale. To celebrate, I want to share one of my family’s favourite recipes from the book: Instant Hummus in a Jar. We are talking about chickpeas canned with lemon juice, garlic, and sesame seeds; everything you need for hummus in one pretty little package. Why is this a favourite of everyone in the house? For starters, we are hummus crazy. As a canner, I love it because it is ridiculously easy to make. As a mom, I love it because my three eldest can make a batch of hummus themselves as easily as cracking a jar, straining a little liquid, and plopping the contents into a blender or food processor. It doesn’t hurt that everyone who has tried it says it is some of the best hummus they’ve ever tried. I’d call that a win/win/win.
So let’s chat for just a sec about what makes “Not Your Mama’s Canning Book” a little different than all the other wonderful books on the market. It’s a modern take on canning, to be sure, with a globally inspired collection of canning recipes, but there is more to it; it also contains nearly 40 recipes to make FROM those goods you’ve just canned. Why? Because all the beautiful jars on the shelf don’t amount to any help at all unless you know how to use them!
Before I get to the recipe (because it is DEAD easy), I’d also like to share a couple of insider stories about the process of writing and photographing the book. My family was instrumental in getting this book done. Not only did they eat every single thing that went into the book, but they offered actual physical help in making it happen. They schlepped dishes out onto the porch (my preferred place to shoot photos) and back into the kitchen where they bravely volunteered to eat the beauty plate (translation: fought over who got to eat the prettiest plated food.) They held reflectors for me. And hilariously, they held a white board behind the shelf pictured on the cover so I could get a pristine, clean look. This they did 5 times in various permutations as I worked to meet the specifications laid out by my publisher. First, the jars and shelf were taken onto the porch and the board was held by my 16 and 18 year old. Next came my middle son and his best friend on 3 different attempts, one of which was in gale force winds, and -finally- my husband and my middle son held the white board for the money shot. I paid them in food. They did not complain.
And about this recipe specifically, I have a story. I had very limited time because I was finishing up recipe development during The Nutcracker season at Neglia Conservatory of Ballet where my son attends AND was in the middle of birthday season for my boys AND it was smack dab between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I generally felt like a crazy woman. It was the one day of the week I didn’t have to drive an hour and a half or make a feast or birthday cake, and I was prepared to put the finishing touches on the Instant Hummus in a Jar recipe by canning one last batch. I gathered my ingredients, went to the pantry, and realized with horror that I was completely out of dried chickpeas. Not a big deal if you live in the city, but friends… I’m in the middle of nowhere. The only place that would carry dried chickpeas for miles upon miles -the Amish bulk food store- was closed because it was Sunday. I was in trouble. I put out a Hail-Mary call for dried chickpeas on facebook, and my long-time, dear friend, Lisa answered with “I have them! I’ll send them home with your kids after youth group!” Oh my word, y’all. What would we do without good friends? Well, we’d be hummusless, for starters. Thank you, Lisa!
Onto the hummus!
Instant Hummus in a Jar
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 1/2 pounds dried garbanzo beans picked over and rinsed
- water
- 1 1/2 cups toasted sesame seeds
- 18 large cloves garlic lightly smashed and peeled
- 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
Instructions
- Soak the garbanzo beans for 12 to 18 hours. Drain well, then transfer the beans to a large stockpot. Cover with water by 2 inches and bring to a full rolling boil.
- Add 1/4 cup of sesame seeds and 3 large garlic cloves to each of 6 pint jars. Use a slotted spoon and canning funnel to transfer the boiled beans into the jars, leaving a generous 1-inch of headspace. Follow this by adding 1/4 cup of lemon juice and then top off the liquid in the jar to witihin 1 full inch of headspace by adding the beans' cooking liquid.
- Use a chopstick to release any air bubbles in the jar and adjust the liquid level, if needed, by adding more bean cooking liquid. Moisten a paper towel with vinegar and use it to wipe the rims of the jars.
- Place the lids on the jars and fasten appropriately, whether it's turning a ring to fingertip tightness or fixing clamps in place.
- Process in a pressure canner according to the manufacturer's instructions at 10 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes. Let the canner come back to atmospheric pressure naturally, then open the lid and transfer to a towel-lined rack to cool undisturbed for 24 hours. Remove the rings, wash and label the jars, and store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
To Make Hummus from Instant-Hummus-In-A-Jar:
- Pour the liquid from the jar through a fine-mesh sieve to prevent losing the seeds. Reserve the liquid and set aside. Pour the contents of the jar into a food processor fitted with a metal blade or blender. Use reserved liquid to thin, if desired. Add salt to taste.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag @foodiewithfam on Instagram and #hashtag it #foodiewithfamily so I can check it out!
The Giveaway:
Well, hello. I’d love to give away 5 signed copies of “Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them”! I’d also like to throw a new canning funnel with each of those books, if it’s okay with you!
Not Your Mama’s Canning Book Giveaway
Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them is available to order through these fine retailers!
Reader's Thoughts...
Rachael says
Just discovered your fantastic canning book and now this website. Rebecca you are amazing – and the recipes in the canning book are so innovative and attractive. I spent this afternoon making the Instant Hummus in a jar – and the Mushroom Soup concentrate – and earlier canned the Tikka Masala sauce.
I love your use of herbs (herb-bombs – amazing!) and spices (an American with a taste for Indian cuisine – splendid!) – so thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your hard work and innovation (and sense of humor!) that makes this book one of the best cookbooks/canning books/food preservation books I have ever owned!
Rebecca says
WOW, Rachael! You just totally made my night. I would be honoured if you’d leave a review of the book on Amazon. Those are always so helpful. And welcome to Foodie with Family. <3
Rachael says
Absolutely Rebecca – it would be my pleasure!
Thanks again for everything you do.
Lisa says
Very interesting…. hmmm… your recipe is the first one that popped up on google, and I was transfixed. I just bought a HUGE can of garbanzo beans at Costco, and have a bunch of tahini left over… I wonder if I can replicate this, with the tahini and adjusted liquids, to make for gifts, for my non-cooling friends and relatives…. most wouldn’t have a fine sieve… so i think I need an arrangement for just a food processor. Any thoughts?
Rebecca says
Hi Lisa- I don’t think the canned garbanzo beans will work for you in this case, unfortunately. They’re already processed and just wouldn’t hold up to being re-processed. Additionally, nut and seed butters are not considered suitable for any kind of home canning, but rather should be added at time of use.
Julene says
I canned this recipie yesterday and opened a jar to try today. I REALLY wanted this recipie to be great as I wanted to use it for Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to. The flavor is just OK but not as good as hummus that uses tahini. The sesame seeds don’t grind up smoothly using either a food processor or blender. I added some salt and more garlic when putting it through the food processor, which did help some. Wish I hadn’t made a double batch.
I won’t make this recipe again.
Rebecca says
That’s interesting! My sesame seeds blend up perfectly smoothly when I make it. I’m sorry it didn’t work as well for you. And the recipe deliberately goes a little light on garlic and salt in the jar because it’s always easier to add than take away! If you’d like a stronger tahini flavour, that can also be added while in the food processor!
Julene says
The seeds remained whole.
Rebecca says
Were they hulled sesame seeds? I’m just so curious because no one has ever reported them staying whole before. The act of pressure canning them softens them up already, so it is very odd that they remained whole while the beans did not.
Katie says
I’m excited to make this! Borrowed the book from the library, and realized in no time I’ll want to buy a copy. I even got my pressure canner tuned up so I can do this recipe, but first, one question, how long do you boil yer beans?
CWeister says
I was just wondering about the Canned Hummus- I made the recipe this weekend & Pressure canned it. My finished product doesn’t look like yours….. my jars have completely jelled liquid in them. The 1″ headspace was correct when we put them in so I’m not sure if they are ok, yours seem to have loads more liquid in them. All the jars did seal. I didn’t pack the beans in tightly & topped them off with the boiling liquid. –Stumped–
Rebecca says
Hi there! No worries. The photo shows the jar straight out of the canner and not after it had chilled completely. When the jars are at room temperature, they definitely look jellied. You’re a-okay!
Erin says
Oh excellent! So good to hear! I will share a couple with my mom with confidence!
Erin says
Hi Rebecca, I got your lovely book as a birthday present and it has quickly become my go-to.. Thank you!
However I tried making this hummus recipe last night and my results are different than I’d expected.. I am quite sure I followed the recipe, I used (dried) chick peas that had soaked for 30 hours with two changes of water, I didn’t cook them though first (just brought the pot to a boil).. I was wondering if I should have cooked the peas fully first? The liquid in them is white and the whole thing seems quite solid.. bet it still tastes good, just not near as pretty as yours.. ? I will open one up later see what it does.. Bet I can strain the gelly liquid out and use it just the same.. I would like the pretty and liquid result that you have though, I am not sure if mine will last well as they are..
Thanks, Erin
Rebecca says
Hi Erin. Thank you so very much for your kind words. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book! Let’s see if I can set your mind at ease. If you heat the jar up slightly in a bowl or pitcher of warm water, yours will also look like that. What you’re describing is fairly normal and it doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong. The jar that was photographed was still in the cooling down phase and hadn’t been out of the canner more than 24 hours. The beans continue to cook (even if ever so slightly) until they’ve cooled down completely even to the center of each bean. As they do that, they’ve giving off starches and that’s what thickens your liquid to a gel consistency. It isn’t harmful at all and won’t effect the shelf life even a little!
Mary says
If you have a blender the blending attachment will fit on the jar. So pour out most of the liquid, place the attachment on the jar and process. No food processor needed.
Rebecca says
That is a great idea! Unfortunately, my blender won’t work that way as the blade is housed permanently in the carafe, but I can see how that would work for other models!
Tonia says
This is a wonderful idea! AND, I’m able to buy locally grown chickpeas to make this! Question – I don’t have a pressure cooker – is it possible to can these without a pressure cooker and if so, how long? Thanks!
Rie says
Hey!!! Who won??? Let’s congratulate them!!!
Rebecca says
I’ve just posted the winners, Rie 😀
Rie says
It’s been a LOOONNNGGG stinkin’ week. Where the heck did you post it?????? Thank GOD I am on vacation now
Rebecca says
HA! It’s in the widget itself above.
Rie says
Ok….you know I love ya more then my luggage (name that movie) but there any nuttin’ in the widget……..Just says, “This competition has ended”……teehee….
Rebecca says
Hrm. It was supposed to be there. Ah well, I’ve sent emails to all of the winners a couple of days ago. I’m sorry!
Kaylee Soria says
I know it’s a probably a silly question (I’m a canning newbie), but I have a ton of canned chickpeas I need to use up. Would it be possible to use already canned chickpeas in this recipe?
Rebecca says
Hi Kaylee- Good question! Unfortunately, pre-canned chickpeas won’t do the job here. They’ll just turn to mush in the pressure canning process. Fortunately, those are great in the chickpea tikka masala recipe in the book 😀 Additionally, dried chickpeas are tremendously inexpensive, so that’s a bonus!
Kaylee Soria says
So excited about your new cookbook! I’ve not tried my hand at canning yet, but just the Hummus recipe above has inspired me to give it a try!
Melissa says
The hummus sounds delicious! I’m sure I would love many of your recipes.
Gina says
I love canning and just came across your site after reading The Pioneer Woman’s post about making fresh mozzarella! Your new book sounds awesome and I can relate with your whirlwind since I have 3 boys of my own!! I will be trying this recipe since we love hummus!!
Teah says
Congratulations on your book! My loves hummus and to have it in a jar and ready on hand sounds wonderful!
Kim says
I love the idea of canning “hummus”. Thanks for sharing your creativity with the rest of us!
Tracibub says
I am so excited for your book!! I just moved to a place where I can *finally* take advantage of the seasons and put up a pantry! ☺️☺️☺️
Shelby says
Your book looks amazing! I love that you’ve added recipes to use up all those beautiful preserved foods.
Jennifer Keller says
I would love this book. I own many canning books and can alot of our garden for the winter. Thanks for writing this cookbook and giving away copies!
Anne says
I’ve been canning for a few years now, having taught myself to water-bath can one autumn when the local apple trees produced the largest crop of the most lovely apples I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t resist gathering as many apples as I could from as many trees as I could get access to. Unfortunately, I’m the only one in the house who eats preserves, so I end up giving away the jars I don’t eat or use in baking. Love the idea of a book that has ideas for using those precious home-canned jars!