Sesame

Sesame is the seed of Sesamum indicum L. FDA’s GRAS spice list names sesame with that botanical source ¹. It is a seasoning and an oilseed. It is not Black pepper, and it is not a salt substitute.

The same seed becomes tahini (ground paste) and sesame oil (pressed fat). Those are different foods. Paste still carries solids and bitterness; oil is Fat without the hull grit. Do not treat a tablespoon of oil as a tablespoon of seeds.

In food #

Toasted seeds smell nutty and can turn rancid — Oxidation of the oil in the seed. Unhulled seeds are flatter, duller, and slightly more bitter; hulled seeds are paler and milder. In bread, seeds on the crust are garnish and aroma; in dough they are fat and specks. Application: Baking and Seasoning.

Tahini separates: oil rises, solids pack. Stir before you weigh. That is emulsion physics, not a defect unique to one brand. Compare a finishing oil such as Olive oil only as another liquid fat — flavor and smoke behavior are not the same.

What to notice #

Whole seeds should rattle, not clump with moisture. Crush one: a nutty aroma, then a slight bitterness from hull or from roast. If the bag smells like paint or old nuts, the oil has already gone. Paste should taste of sesame, not only of oil.