Sesame seeds, seen here on kebabs, add a special taste to your favorite meals
Sesame seeds are usually thought of as a garnish for hamburger buns, but they are actually a very versatile spice and come in a variety of colors, tastes and spice blends. Originating in Africa and India, the sesame plant produces the seeds in pods that can be found in the wild or cultivated. Using the humble sesame seed can help give an ordinary meal an exotic flair and add a bit of zest to your everyday fare.
Sesame Cultivation
The sesame seed pods grow on the sesame plant in Africa and to a lesser degree, India. It grows naturally without cultivation but is grown as a crop in many places. It is tall and thin with small yellow and purple flowers, and greatly resembles the American annual, inpatients. The maximum height for a sesame plant is about 3 feet tall. It is a part of Indian culture in both cuisine and folklore. Seeds come in a variety of colors from cream-white to charcoal black. The variety of seed colors are more prized in Middle Eastern cuisine than in other regions. Smaller seeds have a denser flavor of nuttiness and are therefore prized for their tastiness.
Spices
The sesame seed is valued in eastern culture for its ability to produce a clear, highly flavored oil that has a very long shelf life. It is also used in oriental cooking as a spice in Japan and Korea. It is a vital part of shichimi togarashi, which is an exotic spice of Japan. In a simpler form, gomashio is mixed with 10 percent salt and usually sprinkled over dry rice dishes. The Chinese value the sesame seed as well, using sesame seed paste that has been toasted and used for salad dressings and sauces. In Jordan, the sesame seed is used in the spice mixture zahtar, and in Egypt, dukka has a strong thyme element added.
Sesame Seed Oil
The cold-pressed sesame seed has a very high oil content, as much as 50 to 60percent. It has been cultivated for its ability to produce a clear useful oil for cooking and flavoring and interestingly enough, in Sanskrit, Hindi and languages of North Africa, the name for sesame means "oil" and "liquid fat." Sesame seed oil is so revered in Hindu beliefs that it is used in various rituals and prayers. It is composed mostly of triglycerides and unsaturated oleic acid. Because of its high content of antioxidants, sesame seed oil has a very long shelf life and packs a great deal of taste in each tablespoon.
Care
Seeds of the sesame plant should always be stored in the refrigerator whether they are blended or whole. This is not true of sesame seed oil which can be stored -- even after opening -- in the cabinet. Buying the seeds whole and turning them into your favorite spice or adding them into your cooking is quite easy, and they can be bought in bulk at any number of Middle East, Far East or health food stores, toasted or in their natural state. You can also find dried seeds as well, which are made to make tahini, which gives humus its unusual flavor.
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