34
FOOD
Open sesame!
The magical
little seed
with a big
repertoire
You can find sesame seeds
everywhere - on burger
buns, in cereal bars, baked
into cakes, in stir-fries or
as a garnish for fish and meat. When
beaten to a pulp, the tiny sesame
seed transforms into tahini, a thick,
rich paste which is used widely
across the Mediterranean and the
continents of Africa and Asia. Not bad
for a seed smaller than the size of
an ant.
Sesame seeds are harvested from
Sesamum indicum, a tall plant similar
to a foxglove in appearance. The
shrubby plants, which are native to
Asia and East Africa, are thought to
be one of the oldest crops cultivated
for food. The ancient Egyptians
ground the seeds into flour and the
equally ancient Romans mixed them
with cumin to spread on bread.
The sesame plant forms pods
which burst open when they are
ripe, scattering the precious seeds
everywhere. This may be why in
the past they were thought to have
magical powers and inspired the
spell 'open sesame' in the Arabian
Nights tale of Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. Harvesting the seeds is
a pretty labour-intensive process
and although botanists developed a
non-scattering variety of plant in the
mid-20th century to make harvesting
of the crop easier, the seeds are still
gathered by hand in many countries.
Little pearls
The seeds are creamy or pearly
white in colour and have a flattened
pear-shaped appearance. Sesame
oil extracted from the crushed
seeds is one of the earliest-known
crop-based oils and is still prized for
cooking and garnishes. It comes cold
pressed or can be made from toasted
seeds which gives it a nutty aroma
and taste. The cold-pressed variety
is better for frying as the oil from
toasted seeds can burn easily and
taste bitter. Around 40-60% of the
seed is made up of oil and is also high
in protein and rich in thiamin and
vitamin B6. Packs of sesame seeds
can be found in supermarkets and
health food shops and are relatively
cheap. Once bought and opened,
store in an airtight jar in a cool
dark cupboard.
Although most cooks know about
the store-cupboard staple tahini, not
all are aware of its origin as pounded
sesame seeds. The pulverised pulp
is prized for its nutty flavour and
slightly gritty texture which is
equally at home in sweet or savoury
dishes and used in breads, cakes,
and pastries. Tahini is usually made
from toasted seeds which gives it a
distinctive nutty taste.
The sesame seeds in tahini are a
high-fibre food with each tablespoon
providing just over 1g of fibre. The
remaining carbohydrate in tahini
is starch and it doesn't contain
any sugar in its natural form. This
means the glycaemic load is zero -
considering the serving size of the
food and its impact on your blood
sugar. The same tablespoon contains
about 8g of fat and 3g of protein.
Tahini is full of micronutrients -