Tahini is a classic middle eastern food that has become a very popular ingredient in many healthy recipe collections. It's delicious, nutritious, and easy to make.
If you're a vegan or vegetarian,
or if you spend a lot of time browsing through cookbooks and recipe sites, you've almost certainly heard about tahini. It's called for as an ingredient in all kinds of healthy recipes - but what is it? And why is it good for you?
Tahini, which originated centuries ago in the middle east, is actually made from ground sesame seeds and olive oil. It can be found both in a thick form, which has a consistency much like peanut butter, and in a thinner, saucelike form. In the middle east, where it's an everyday kitchen staple, the thick form is typically used as a base for smooth, creamy foods like hummus (chickpea dip) while the thinner form is used as a condiment to add both flavor and moisture to sandwiches and other foods.
Made From Tiny Seeds That Pack A Big Nutritional Payoff
Tahini is a popular ingredient in healthy recipe collections because it delivers plenty of nutrients along with flavor and texture. Sesame seeds are tiny nutritional powerhouses, an excellent source of many crucial minerals including the zinc and calcium that are crucial to maintaining healthy bones. They're also rich in copper, which is known to help reduce the joint inflammation related to arthritis. In addition, sesame seeds are high in manganese, which acts as an antispasmotic and is believed to help prevent migraines, lower blood pressure, and even relieve menopause-related sleep problems.
But minerals aren't the only nutrients sesame seeds deliver. They're also rich in phytosterols, plant-based compounds with a chemical structure very similar to that of HDL or "good" cholesterol. Phytosterols are believed to act in the same way as HDL cholesterol in reducing blood levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol levels are known to contribute to the formation of arterial plaque and markedly increase risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
How To Make Your Own Tahini
Tahini was once difficult to find outside of cities with middle eastern specialty shops, but it's now widely available in grocery stores everywhere. Commercially prepared tahini is good, but making your own is a simple process and allows to you adjust the flavor and texture to your exact taste.
Ingredients: Vegetable or olive oil and sesame seeds, in a ratio of four parts seeds to one part oil; in other words, if you're using one cup of seeds you'll need one quarter cup of oil.
Step one: Toast the seeds. Spread them out in an even layer on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently. The goal is to toast them lightly without browning them, which can make them bitter. Keep a close eye on the seeds during the toasting process. Remove from the oven as soon as they're light toasted and allow them to cook briefly.
Step two: combine the seeds and half the oil in a food processor and process on high for one minute. This is a sticky process, so you'll need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides with a spatula at least once or twice.
Step three: when the seeds and oil have started to form a paste, add the remaining oil and continue processing until the texture is that of a uniformly smooth and creamy paste. You'll need to stop and scrape down the sides frequently during processing.
To store, empty contents of the processor into a glass jar with a tight-fitting cover and refrigerate. The paste can stored for a month or more if kept sealed and refrigerated.
