A Taste of Tahini

I am proud to announce that I have made Tahini. I have decided if there is an ingredient that can be made at home I am going to make it instead of buying it. Thank you for the  inspirational feedback from followers of this blog and reminding me that there will be a recipe for everything somewhere.

I sourced the sesame seeds and discovered I had to choose between  Natural and  White  seeds.  I decided to take both and taste the difference and be an informed sesame seed buyer in future.

Roasted Sesame Seeds

I decided to use the natural sesame seeds first and roasted two cups on a tray in a 180° oven for 10 minutes stirring them continuously making sure they do not burn. The roasting brings out the nuttiness and the smell reminded me of the flavour of the seed bars I like to eat.

Tahini

I added olive oil to the roasted seeds and used a food blender to make the tahini paste that reminded me of texture of peanut butter.

With a jar of homemade tahini in the fridge I am ready for all the Middle Eastern dishes  I want to make that calls for tahini.

Here are some nutritional facts on tahini I got from the mindbodygreen.com website.

1.It’s rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron.

2.It's a good source of Methionine, which aids in liver detoxification.

3.It’s one of the best sources of calcium out there.

4.It’s high in vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15.

5.Helps to promote healthy cell growth.

6.Prevents anemia.

7.Helps to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone.

8.It has 20% complete protein, making it a higher protein source than most nuts.

9.It's easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss.

10.It is high in unsaturated fat (good fat!)

I discovered that the seeds should be hulled before one makes the paste. Soak the seeds in water and then crush them to separate the bran from the kernels. Then the crushed seeds must be soaked in salt water which will make the bran sink and the floating kernels can be skimmed off the surface. The kernels are then roasted and ground.

Well I still have the white seeds left and I might give this more intensive recipe a try next time.