Plain organic white sesame seed in a 250 g pack, from Smart Organic. One of the oldest cultivated oilseeds in the world and still one of the most useful things to keep in a kitchen cupboard.
What it is. Sesame (Sesamum indicum) has been farmed for at least four thousand years, largely because the seed is roughly half oil and the oil keeps unusually well — sesame contains sesamol and sesamin, natural antioxidants that slow the rancidity that spoils most seed oils. The pods split open sharply when ripe, which is where “open sesame” comes from.
Toast it. This is the single most important thing to know. Raw sesame is bland and slightly chalky; two or three minutes in a dry pan, shaken constantly until the seeds turn pale gold and start to smell nutty, transforms them completely. They burn in seconds once they colour, so do not walk away. Toast the whole pack at once and keep it in a jar — it is worth the four minutes.
What to do with it. Scatter over roast vegetables, noodles, salads and rice. Grind with salt for a quick gomasio. Blitz with a little oil for home-made tahini. Press into bread and rolls before baking. Fold into halva, biscuits and energy balls. Toasted and crushed with cumin, coriander, hazelnut and salt, it becomes Egyptian dukkah, for dipping bread with olive oil.
On calcium — an honest note. Sesame is often described as a calcium powerhouse. That is true of unhulled seed, where the calcium sits mostly in the hull, and even then a good part of it is bound to oxalate and poorly absorbed. Hulled white seed like this has far less. Eat it because it is delicious and full of good fats, not as a dairy substitute.
Allergen: sesame is one of the fourteen allergens that must be declared under EU law, and sesame allergy is increasingly common. Always mention it when you are cooking for other people.
Certified organic. Available at Só Verde, an organic concept store in Foz, Porto.
treatfuls
treatfuls
treatfuls
