Review: Mezmez Mouhamara, Hommus Beiruti, and Keshkeh

Elias Sumer, chef of the Libanese restaurant Cedars in Amsterdam, created three MezMez products - Mouhamara, Hommus Beiruti, and Keshkeh - that you can find in the supermarket. I had never tried Libanese food before, so I was really curious about them.


MezMez Mouhamara* (€2.49), Hommus Beiruti*(€2.29), and Keshkeh* (€2.49), 150 g



The three MezMez pastes have resealable plastic cups and you can easily slide out the outer paper sleeves.



First impressions: The MezMez Mouhamara has a dark red, tomato sauce like appearance and the MezMez KeshKeh looks like a watery, yoghurt based salad dressing. I have tried Hommus before, but the MezMez Hommus Beiruti seems more special as it has more different herbs mixed in.


Let the tasting begin!

appetiser




MezMez Mouhamara

The MezMez Mouhamara is a spicy-sweet dip with fried onions, tomato, peppers, pomegranate syrup and some crunchy pieces of walnut here and there. The spiciness is relatively strong, as it burns in my mouth for quite some time (note: I can't take spicy food very well), but I still think it is acceptable.



MezMez Hommus Beiruti

The MezMez Hommus Beiruti is a creamy paste made with chickpeas, tahine, parshley, tomato, and lemon, but it can be a bit on the dry side. Although there are a lot of added ingredients, the hommus flavor didn't get buried by them. You first lightly taste the spices and then, you get a full flavor of chickpeas at the end.



MezMez Keshkeh

The MezMez Keshkeh is a refreshing and light yoghurt dip, flavored with mint, and with a subtle crunch here and there from the small cucumber and paprika bits. I had to look up what burghul was, but it is a type of wheat. I don't really remember tasting it, but it could be the small and soft, chewy bits. It also has a very pronounced mint flavor, but the herbs/seasoning make it taste acceptable for me.


My opinion

I like the MezMez Hommus Beiruti the most, as it adds a bit of flavor to an otherwise plain Hommus. The MezMez Mouhamara (spicy kick) and Keshkeh (minty fresh) taste a bit unusual to me, but it is a nice change from what I normally serve on the party food table at home.




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