Forget the heated arguments about the spread’s true national origins. Forget the endless quibbles about who makes it best, or whether it should be smooth or chunky, or what, besides chickpeas, constitutes an acceptable topping (pro tip: mushrooms may be on the menu, but they’re never OK). Here’s all you need to know about the state of hummus these days: It’s the official dip of the National Football League, courtesy of a company, Sabra, owned jointly by PepsiCo and Israel’s Strauss conglomerate. Which is to say that hummus, at least in America, isn’t even really a food anymore. Like Waze or Gal Gadot, it’s a cultural ambassador, an Israeli emissary here to insist that you love it no matter what, a garlic-kissed argument for the tanginess of the Jewish state.

Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer at Tablet.