Looking back on it, I've realized I've been discussing Greek foods quite a lot lately. I try to vary the origin places for the foods and drinks I cover, but alas, I am limited by what I can find here in Southern New Jersey. Anyway, today's post is about baba ghanoush, which is a savory spread. It was actually made in Greece, but distributed by an American company named Esti Foods.
Readers with excellent memories may recall that I first reported on baba ghanoush back on October 24th, 2020, in a post about various Mediterranean foods from a local restaurant. I did give a very brief description of this dish then, but I'll expand upon it a little today. Basically, baba ghanoush (which, incidentally, can be spelled many different ways) is an appetizer which originated in the area comprising the modern areas of Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. (Some think it actually originated in Lebanon, but this isn't conclusively known.) However, neighboring areas in the Mediterranean also adapted this food--obviously, since the kind I tried was from Greece. Baba ghanoush is a spread, made from chopped up and roasted eggplant, tahini (which is made from sesame seeds), olive oil, lemon juice, and various seasonings. The last ingredient is usually the one that differs the most, depending on where you're eating it--some people like their baba ghanoush to be blandish, others prefer it spicier. Arabic folks have a similar dish called mutabbal, which includes the eggplant, tahini, and lemon, but also has salt, garlic, and more potent spices. The name baba ghanoush appears to be Arabic as well. "Baba" means "daddy," and together with "ghanoush" is translated into something like, "an old daddy who is indulgent, or pampered, or spoiled, or coquettish (i.e. flirty)." Which is, frankly, a weird and somewhat creepy title for a savory spread, but whatever. Perhaps there is some cultural reference or history that I'm not familiar with, or wouldn't really comprehend.
As for the company that distributed the food, I wasn't able to learn much. The official Esti Foods website is very limited. It basically just contains a product list and recipes. Alternate business-related websites indicated that Esti began in 2016, and that the current CEO may be Edward Tessier. Another noted that their number of employees is between 11-50, and their (presumably annual) revenue is $5,000,000, So this is all I have about the company's history. Esti's products include grab 'n' gos (essentially different kinds of snacks, mostly pita chips combined with other things), several kinds of yogurt, several kinds of dairy-free yogurt, plant-based foods (meatless "burgers," "hot dogs," "meatballs" etc.) pizza, and feta cheeses. And the company is based out of Rutherford, NJ, which is near to where the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets play their home games. Finally, according to what I saw online, "esti" in Greek means "to be" in the third person singular, or it's similar to "is" in English.
Esti baba ghanoush: The color of this spread was greenish-brown, with visible red pepper chunks. The texture was like a paste, rather smooth and creamy. I tried some plain, and then some as a dip with bread. It had some spice bite. It was pretty good. Not great, but solid. I enjoyed it more this time than the previous occasion--I think the extra seasoning made the difference. So overall it's a decent spread, and I would recommend it. Also, the Esti kind had garlic and salt in it, along with the peppers, so maybe it was closer to a mutabbal than a baba ghanoush. I'll let Mediterranean spread purists fight it out over this.
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