Kala-Matta Foods
Sometimes a name can suggest a calling of sorts, notable exceptions like Christopher Plummer, Karen Carpenter and James Mason notwithstanding. So it was for Jerry Matta, a career flooring contractor, to get off the floor and into the kitchen to start up Kala-Matta Foods. Matta was born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, and moved to Cape Cod at his wife Kerri’s urging. “She had to drag me by the nose to get me out of Brockton,” Matta laughs. That was over four years ago, and now? “I just love it here. It’s so peaceful.” After 35 years of backbreaking work installing floors, Matta knew he needed to transition into another, less physically demanding, line of work. He turned to something that had been earning him raves for years: hummus. “I’m Lebanese, and years ago I found my Great Aunt Lilly’s recipe for hummus,” Matta explains. He began making it and bringing it to gatherings for family and friends. It quickly became a favorite dish.
The secret to Matta’s hummus is really no secret at all. No hush-hush “pinch of this” or “dash of that” makes Kala-Matta’s stand above other hummus on the market. Simple and smooth are the two keys to its excellence. “I just use the traditional ingredients without any preservatives,” Matta states. Chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame seeds), garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper are all that’s needed to create outstanding hummus. Larger, national brands need to add preservatives (powdered citric acid) to their hummus, and as Matta points out, “There’s no way that doesn’t affect the flavor of the hummus, and I don’t add any gimmicky ingredients that the others do.” There are only two additions to the hummus, Sriracha and Kalamata olives (of course) that bring the line of offerings to three. The other area of difference is the smoothness. “I really work the food processor to get the hummus much smoother than other brands,” he claims.
What’s hummus without a tasty delivery system to go along with it? To that end, Kala- Matta Foods also offers toasted chips made from Lebanese bread. Matta cuts up what’s commonly known as pita bread in these parts into small pieces. As with the hummus, he takes a similarly simple approach and merely drizzles olive oil over the bread and adds a sprinkle of salt and a healthy grind of pepper before toasting them in the oven.
It was just a year ago when Matta launched Kala-Matta Foods, and debuted it at the Osterville Farmers’ Market. “I was nervous as hell,” he chuckles. He made $300 and sold out of his supply that day. He was off and running. Without preservatives and with an exceedingly short shelf life, the challenge remains to make just the right amount of hummus for both the farmers’ markets and stores that carry his product. “I will usually bring 60 to 70 pounds per market,” Matta explains. It’s hard work, but compared to installing floors full-time? “It’s a lot more schmoozing than sweating,” Matta reveals. “I like to tell people as they try the hummus that it was made in Sandwich. It was made this morning, and it was made by me,” he proudly claims.
By the end of the 2018 summer season, Matta will have a better idea of the limits to how much he can produce in the commercial kitchen of the American Legion Post in Sandwich. That food processor (and its operator) will be put through the paces this year as Matta’s hummus and pita chips will be found across Cape Cod at farmers’ markets in Brewster, Chatham, Osterville and at Cape Cod Beer. In addition, you can pick up all three flavors of Kala-Matta hummus along with the chips at Fancy’s Market in Osterville, Peterson’s Market in Yarmouth Port and Ring Brothers in Dennis.
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