What is raw sesame tahini?

If you haven’t tried raw sesame tahini yet, buckle up and get ready to be blown away. This versatile spread has been a staple in Middle Eastern cuisines for ages, but it’s finally gaining popularity elsewhere.

So what exactly is tahini, you may ask? Let me break it down for you (without breaking down myself):

The Skinny on Tahini

Tahini is essentially ground-up sesame seeds that turn into a paste-like consistency when mixed with water or other liquids. It’s like peanut butter but made from sesame seeds instead of peanuts (mind-blowing revelation- I know). While the traditional tahini recipe requires roasted sesame seeds, raw tahini skips that step altogether by using unroasted seeds.

Raw vs Roasted: Which One Wins?

Spoiler alert: Both are great! But they do have different flavors and textures. Since roasted sesame seeds’ flavor undergoes some changes due to the roasting process, it develops nuttier notes while losing some of its natural bitterness. In contrast, raw tahini preserves the taste of the whole seed- bitter undertones and all.

But why should one opt for raw tahini over its more commonly used counterpart? Here are three reasons:

1) Unprocessed Foods: As we continuously strive towards living healthier lifestyles, we tend to steer ourselves towards natural and minimally processed foods as well.
2) Nutrition Boost: Choosing “raw” food products ensures maximum nutrient retention since the ingredients aren’t exposed to heat during processing.
3) Chronic Diseases Prevention Lawsuit-proofing: The internet claims that consuming food enriched with antioxidants reduces chronic diseases’ risk factors in humans sooo… I’ll let you connect the dots yourself!

That said,
we return topic at hand:

Using Raw Sesame Tahin in Cooking

How can we use this magical paste in our dishes? The uses and recipes aren’t limited to baba ghanoush or hummus, even though they’re both delicious options. Here are some of my favorite ways to use raw sesame tahini:

Direct Application

1) How about drizzling it over toast (ahem avocado toast) for a protein and healthy fat boost?
2) You could mix a spoonful of tahini into your oatmeal bowl with honey on top for some added creaminess.
3) Or you could DARE I SAY dip veggies instead mayonnaise…

As a Salad Dressing

One winning combination is tahini, lemon juice, garlic powder/salt/black pepper combo: An easy way to create an addictively creamy dressing that complements leafy greens AND non-leafy salad mixes.

Pro tip: To thin out the mixture, adding water as needed until it has reached desired consistency.

This next one might make more sense than nuts…

Use It As Nut Butter Substitute!

Since peanuts and tree nuts allergies are notoriously common in humans these days+, using raw sesame tahini is life-saving if one craves a nut butter experience. It makes for fantastic subs say vegan smoothies or energy balls while providing an equal nutritional punch ultimately‼︎

Nutrition Facts

Speaking of its nutritional value ( drumroll ), here are what benefits come from consuming this nutrient-dense paste:

Nutrition facts table

As we can see above Tahini truly packs satisfyingly dense micronutrients like vitamins E & B-complex plus minerals such as magnesium/phosphorus/reliable amounts (& strong source potency???) ± calcium!

Now if all those benefits don’t fascinate you;
I actually have something newsworthy……

There’s been brewing interest gourmet-level tahini, where brands have been experimenting with taste and texture to come up with innovation. One example is black tahini which some companies tout as a game-changer for people who want their food products to look cool on Instagram (I mean…for health purposes). Yep! You heard me right- BLACK SESAME SEEDS!!!

It’s All About the Jar Labels!

Nowadays, Beauty comes first! Freaking millennials or what?? Although maybe we should take slight digression.

By now you might’ve noticed that most sesame tahini jars’ exterior designs are easy-to-miss standard brown labels. But lately; Attractive branding, label design pulls attention all over supermarket shelves from everyday consumers also baristas at your local coffee house!.

We seeing gimmicky packages labeled fancy buzzwords like ‘Organic Coconut Oil Infused Tahins’, ‘Toasted Egyptian Spice Mix’ etcetera.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the fuss around sesame tahini feels nearly whimsical besides moon milk trends of late shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

If you’re not already convinced by this ode to raw sesame tahini;
Well then there’s nothing else I can tell you….but if
you are curious about trying it out:
You seriously won’t regret giving Raw Sesame Tahin a chance.
Just remember not to go off licking it straight-out-of-the-jar unless balanced amounts ¯_(ツ)_/¯.


Addendum : Notes

+Allergic reaction studies conducted in USA show increase America Academy Allergy Asthma Immunology

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