Sesame Seed — Sesame, Open!

In an Egyptian tomb more than three thousand years old, a baker sprinkling sesame seeds into bread is depicted. That is how long the famed seed and culinary staple have been around. It is interestingly referenced as the magical password in the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” – the well-known phrase “Sesame, open!” to unfold a cave filled with treasures alludes to the nature of the sesame pod to burst open once fully ripe.

Cultivated from a capsule that grows on a sesame plant, sesame seeds come in various colors. When unhulled, they can be black, brown, yellow and red; while hulled, they emerge from the pod colored white, which is the version used in the US as well as across Europe. Black sesame seeds are popular in Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. While sesame is mostly cultivated for sesame oil and sprinkled on top of biscuits, buns, breads and bagels, they are much more than just an ingredient that adds dimension and serve as a decorative element. They too have a lot of health benefits and are used as an ingredient in soaps and beauty products.

  Tastes  
Popular all around the world and used in a variety of dishes, a sesame seed bears a nutty flavor. The white variant gives off a nutty aroma while the black and brown types barely have any aroma at all but have a similar nutty profile to them but a bit more sharp. Sesame also enriches the flavor of dishes when they are toasted.

  Pairing Spices   
Allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, sumac, thyme

  Complements   
Breads, biscuits, salads, stir-fries

  Culinary Uses  
Sesame Seed Recipes

While it is the popular option for topping bread, sesame is also a key component in dishes, sauces and dips in many cuisines.

In Middle Eastern cuisine, seeds are grounded to make a paste called tahini which is then added to sauces and dips. Sesame tahini is also a major component in making hummus. Sesame is also essential to the Middle Eastern spice blend za’atar. Sesame has a lot of uses in various cuisines across Asia. In Japan, unhulled seeds, when mixed with coarse salt, become the condiment called gomasio. This is then sprinkled over rice, vegetables and salads. It’s also mixed with soy sauce and sugar which form the dressing for cold chicken, noodles and vegetable salads. Sesame seeds, both black and white, are the indispensable elements in the Japanese seven spice powder (shichimi togarashi) often used in soups and noodles.

Asian sesame seed oil is not used for cooking because it burns at low temperature. Instead, it is used as a seasoning and, most commonly, as an aromatic by sprinkle a few drops to dishes before serving. Additionally, sesame paste is used to dress noodles, rice and vegetables. In China, the crunchy texture of the seeds makes it the popular choice to coat shrimp balls with. The black seeds are also used to garnish rice and vegetables, as well as coat fish and seafood before cooking.

  Buying and Storing   
Sesame seeds can be bought from supermarkets, spice shops, health food stores, or online. The seeds need to be sealed in an airtight container away from heat as the high oil content of the seeds can lead to rancidity if exposing to consistently hot conditions.

  Health Benefits  
Once used as a laxative and tonic, sesame is also rich in vitamin B1, dietary fiber and a host of other vitamins and minerals. Research has also shown that sesame has shown promise in treating and preventing various diseases such as

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cancer  and
• Huntington’s disease

Sesame Oil benefits are many as well, and these include:

• having good fats in mono- and polyunsaturated acids which help in reducing cholesterol
• being rich in vitamin E, magnesium, copper, calcium and iron
• having two unique chemicals in sesamol and sesamin, which are both powerful antioxidants
• being low in saturated fats, also known as the bad kind of fat
• being able to lower blood pressure from the polyunsaturated acids, vitamin E and sesamol it contains
• sesame oil for skin acts as natural sunscreen (thanks to vitamin E), serves as a moisturizer, slows down skin aging, detoxifies the skin, helps repair damaged skin cells and limits antibacterial infections
• sesame oil for hair promotes hair growth, keeps hair protected from the sun and helps with dandruff, dryness and hair loss

Organic Sesame Oil

Precautions

• The recommended dosages should be followed when using sesame oil to avoid any side effects.
• Sesame oil has laxative effects and shouldn’t be used by those with diarrhea.
• Caution must be exercised when using sesame oil with children.