Story by Sasha Friedman, Summer 2020

Chickpeas are a staple throughout the world. They can be seen in use all over southwest Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Their versatility means that they can be used to make a wide variety of dishes ranging from curries and soups to salads and dips. I can even vividly remember meals in my household where there were chickpeas at the core of every dish. There were days when my meals consisted of chickpea salad, falafel, and hummus. The whole of this spread was made with chickpeas, though pita bread (sadly not made with chickpeas) was also present. Whether ground to a paste or cooked whole the main ingredient of the day remained the same throughout.

Versatility is just one among the many reasons that chickpeas are a mainstay in the variety of cultures that they hold their position in. They are also capable of growing in a wide range of temperatures and soil types which allows them to grow in hotter climates such as the Middle East and Southern Asia as well as climates in the North-West of the United states. Their widespread availability has led to them having a number of different names like grams, garbanzo beans, and Egyptian peas alongside their name as chickpeas. As a component of so many culturally diverse dishes chickpeas likely hold an important place in many people’s connections with their culture.

For me, chickpeas are a reminder of my Grandmother, who I get to see around once a year nowadays, who always cooks using chickpeas whenever I’m with her. Her falafel outshines the best I’ve had in any stand, and her extra lemony hummus is always delicious. When I was younger I disliked the slight bitterness of hummus but my grandmother started putting in extra lemon juice to offset it just for me and her other grandkids who were probably too picky for our own good. Thanks to her, these foods which come from chickpeas will forever remind me of my family. This is especially true in recent years when my mother and father have tried (and succeeded in my opinion) of flavoring these dishes just the right way to harken back to my grandmother’s cooking. In this way chickpeas are a very important plant, and eventually food, to me and my family.

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