Every time someone visits Cookography, we get an itsy bitsy amount of money via the ads you see on the right hand side. Over time and if enough people stop by, it starts to add up. Better yet, if I use the money for Cookography related things I don’t have to pay taxes on it because they count as expenses. At the end of last year we had earned enough to get Vitamix.
A Vitamix is a very high blender that does things no ordinary blender. Its blades are very sharp and spin so quickly and with so much force that it can transform anything into a velvety smooth sauce. If you use it to make dressing, it can combine and emulsify the ingredients so well that they will not separate, even after a couple of days in the fridge.
We are hummus addicts. A container does not last too long in our fridge. However at $4+ a pop, it gets pretty expensive. I have tried lots of different recipes, but they never turn out as smooth as store bought versions. This is before I tried making hummus in the vitamix. Not only does it turn out super smooth hummus, but it can make a quart size batch without blinking an eye. Better yet, you don’t have to worry about having some tahini on hand, because you can add whole sesame seeds, along with the other ingredients, and the Vitamix will pulverize them into tahini.
Somehow in my head buying a $450 blender to save on $4 containers of hummus makes total economic sense, good thing I am not a financial advisor. Regular blenders and food processors are also perfectly capable of turning out good humus, the end results are just have a different texture. It is of course great a making a number of other things, which I will cover in follow-up posts.
As much as I like the blender, Vitamix comes across as a bit of a weird company. Their website looks vintage 2005, and comes across as being a little shady, with areas focusing on diabetes prevention. They seem to be targeting the new age food & vegan lover crowd instead of serious home cooks. Their sales channels are little weird too. For the most part you can only get the blender directly from them. The also have an affiliate program, where websites get a percentage of the sales they drive to vitmax. This of course has lead to a lot of even sketchier website promoting the wonderousness of the Vitamix and offering free shipping. Having a dated website, promoted by sketchy 3rd party sites does very little to inspire confidence in a very expensive purchase.
Luckily they are also available through Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table. I decided to go this route, figuring I could easily return it if it didn’t live up to the hype. Of course Vitamix has to make this confusing and refers to these models using a different model. The Professional Series 200 is the same blender as their 5200, except that it comes with a different recipe book and DVD (which I have yet to watch). Unfortunately most of the included recipes are more geared towards ultra healthy eating, who makes a quart of hummus with only 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I have fixed this for them! Give my recipe a try and suggest any tweaks you have.
[recipes]
RED PEPPER HUMMUS
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cooked, drained chickpeas, cooking water reserved or 2 cans of chickpeas
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8 canned piquillo peppers
Directions:
- Add all of the ingredients to the jar of the blender.
- Add enough of the cooking liquid or water til it is up to the level of the beans.
- Using the stirring stick, blend everything together.
- Start the blender on the lowest speed, and then bring quickly bring it up to 10, and switch it to hi-speed.
- Use the stirring stick to break up any air pockets and blend for 1 minute.
FYI Vitamix blades ARE NOT sharp it is the high speed they turn at that chops and mixes so well.
Vitamix is the clear winner for homemade hummus. So many varieties to be made. Yummy.
how long does this keep?
I just tried your hummus recipe and its great. A few years ago I was ill and needed something that would be nourishing. I was always cold so I drank a lot of broth, then one day my friend had some snack size hummus and I added it to my hot broth it was very tasty. When I make hummus in the Vitamix, and I get what I can out if the container I add hot chicken broth and have a cup of soup. And if I want some left for another time I leave more hummus in the container and add more broth. I put the extra in a jar and refrigerate it. Thank you for the great recipe.
So what about the oil? Is it missing from the recipe?
Nice article. Would love to make hummus in my VM but the question of to oil or not to oil has not been answered. Great tip to use sesame seeds. Now if only I knew about the oil…
I’ve made it a zillion times and really you don’t need to ask the question here, just open a can of peas, drain, keeping some liquid (aquafaba) back. Throw in a couple of garlic cloves, lemon juice to taste, I add turmeric, other seasonings, often a large mild chilli pepper and blend. Taste before you remove, just add what you think it might need. All trial and error. I have missed the tahini, but then I’m not a purist and love Middle Eastern food which often has way too much oil cooked in and part of the recipe or both. Enjoy
It looks like you forgot to add the olive oil to your recipe? For me, I love to add fresh lemon juice, and the fresh lemon flavor is what really puts it over the edge. This is my recipe: http://joyofblending.com/making-hummmus/
I will have to try adding peppers at some point though.
For getting it out, I use long skinny spatulas. I just received the vitamix-branded nylon spatulas as a gift and they work pretty well. Unfortunately it is still a bit of a pain. I don’t sweat getting every last bit out because garbanzo beans are pretty cheap.
Bought a VitaMix several months ago and tried using the hummus recipe from their cookbook. They call for 2 CANS of chickpeas, one drained and the other one not. Since I only use organic beans I cook myself I was a bit too heavy on the chickpeas. I have now figured out that 2 15 oz. cans of beans = 3 1/2 cups home cooked beans.
Upshot was my hummus was a bit too dry and since I didn’t want to over process it and burn out the motor, I just made due with a drier hummus.
Unfortunately there was a lot I couldn’t get out of the blender which drives me crazy to waste anything.
Betsy Shipley
Next up us making tahini with half the amount they suggest which is 5 cups. Since there are just two of us and I don’t use tahini much, I can always store it in small containers in the freezer for dressings and dipping sauces.
I couldn’t agree with you more about the waste!! I LOVE my Vitamix. I got the new fangled one with the soup, smoothie and frozen dessert settings a few weeks ago at Costco. It is completely awesome – but I last night I made baba ganoush (eggplant hummus) and I could not get all of it out. (It is hard when you cant unscrew the bottom) Maybe there is a trick we don’t know about?
Thanks for the great informational tip on how you can use actual sesame seeds instead of tahini in this recipe. I love my Vitamix for making hummus and can’t wait to try your recipe! You have great recipes! I only wish more people knew about your site!!!!
Donna
Thanks Donna, the sesame seed trick makes hummus in the vitamix so much easier. One less ingredient to stock!
Love my Vitamix, but have not made hummus before. About to remedy that….
Let us know how it turns out!
Piquilo should be spelled piquillo. They are from N. Spain. They are difficult to find. And expensive. Is there any other suggestion? Plain old roasted red peppers OK?
You are totally right, I will go fix that. The Piquillo Peppers are actually pretty cheap for me from Harris Tetter. If you have one near by, check it out. Roasted red peppers would totally work though.
There is nothing shady about Vitamix. They have been making blenders since 1937. They make them right near me in Cleveland, Ohio. We just bought our first Vitamix a few weeks ago and love it. It seems very well built and sturdy. I’ve seen them demo’d at the Home and Garden shows in Cleveland since I was little kid (I’m 47 now) and have always wanted one. My parents have one from the 1950’s that they still use.
Does your recipe also call for olive oil? The last paragraph of your post (very easy to read, by the way) refers to the ultra healthy recipes calling for only 1 tablespoon of olive oil. It goes on to say that you fixed this for them. I was expecting to read that you use even more olive oil in your recipe, but your ingredients list doesn’t include any at all. I just wanted to confirm…
Will there be mor VITAMIX recipes??
Can’t wait to try the hummus, and make more things – am getting mine in about a week, purchased 2200 off ebay. thanks!!!
Vitamix hummus is the best!
Thats great to hear! I just made a batch of Sorbet (accidentally). Let me know how the hummus turns out and if you have any tweaks.
An unsolicited Vitamix endorsement.
My father-in-law had a Vitamix when I married his daughter way back in 1989. Amazingly, he now has not only the original one, but a second one he bought some 10 years ago. He used it primarily to make tofu – weird, right?
I saw a demo at a state fair – in which the hawker made first ice cream, then peanut (and cashew) butter, then hot soup using the Vitamix. I was blown away. Enter my own Vitamix.
We’ve used it to make the requisite smoothies, to grind grains for both homebrewing and baking, to mince meats (before I bought a meat grinder).
I swear by it and include it as among the must-haves of kitchen products … right up there next to a KitchenAide and coffee maker of your choice and corkscrew.
I look forward to trying the humas recipe.