Well, look at Trader Joe’s going off and creating another weird abomination again. This time we have something called “Chocolate Hummus”. It reminds me of something I ate in Germany once called spaghetti ice cream. It looks just like a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, but is actually ice cream and strawberries. Looks can fool you! But in the case of the spaghetti ice cream, the outcome was delicious.
We have to take this product on two levels. Appearance and Taste. You have to suspend your pre-conceived notions in each area before you put this in your mouth and taste it. Let’s break down what it is and what it isn’t. Just by looking at the ingredients on the label, you can see it is hummus, but with sugar and chocolate.
INGREDIENTS:
COOKED CHICKPEAS (GARBANZO BEANS, WATER), CANE SUGAR, WATER, COCOA PROCESSED WITH BAKING SODA, EXPELLER PRESSED CANOLA OIL, SEA SALT, TAHINI (SESAME SEEDS), NATURAL FLAVOR, NISIN (MOLD INHIBITOR).
So, we can expect it to taste like garbanzo beans but sweet with chocolate? Looking at it, your mind is tricked into thinking it looks like chocolate pudding. So, I just decided to taste straight off a spoon and what you get is… well… chocolaty sweet hummus! When it first hit my palate it was the smooth chocolaty flavors that you mind is expecting, but it quickly fades into a hummus flavor that you get because of all the chickpeas and tahini. It was weird. The texture, is just like hummus, slightly grainy and thick, just like hummus! It really is a weird mash up of hummus and chocolate.
Would I call this a dessert hummus and dip my strawberries in it? Probably not, the mind altering look to it is hard to get around. It looks like chocolate frosting, but only vaguely tastes like it. But would I put it on pita bread like regular hummus? I tried that too and it was too sweet for that kind of purpose.
I expect this to be on the shelves for a few months before disappearing into the dustbin of weird concoctions that Trader Joe’s is well known for. That’s what keeps us coming back. The routine and the weird. We love you Trader Joe’s! But not this was a little too weird for me! Unfortunately, I would only give it about 5 bells.
