Sesame seeds and homemade tahini!
Sesame seeds are one of my all-time fave raw seeds and are a staple in our house! Soooooo full of healthy goodies and so many yummy things can be concocted with these tasty lil’ guys!
What makes sesame seeds so good? Well for starts they’re chock full of calcium. A mere ounce of them contains 27% of our daily requirement of calcium and 23% of Iron!! (according to nutritiondata.com~ awesome website for quickly and easily figuring out just what is in the foods you eat! A great, great tool for raw-fooders curious about what’s in their fruits, veggies, seeds and more!!) These tasty seeds are laso rich in phosphorous, mangense, magnesium, zinc, and copper (57% dv per ounce!) which is perfect because copper is necessary in the absorption of iron, pretty handy how they just happen to be in there together. Copper also helps balance the thyroid, is essential to producing red-blood cells, fights yeast, and carries oxygen in the blood stream aiding in the oxygenation of our tissues including the brain! *for more info on the many benefits of copper and other vitamins and minerals you can check out healthvitaminsguide.com*
Sesame seed’s naturally high fat content (good raw plant based fats, not the lame kinds that cause unhealthy weight gain) make them perfect for creating rich creamy mylks, dressings, sauces and dips as well as creamy pie-fillings. The most famous of their uses is to create tahini. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and usually contains sesame oil as well. It’s delicious on it’s own as a dip for fruits and veggies, can be blended with cirtus juices and various spices to make awesome salad dressings and can also be used as a substitute for peanut butter in many raw-dishes. The stuff you find in the store is usually either cooked or has been heated due to the activity of the grinding machinery. There are some good raw brands available though, such as artisana. But tahini is soooo darn easy to make, you’ll probably just wanna crank some out yourself! Here’s my formula for it~
Soak 1 C of sesame seeeds for about 2 hours and then drain and rinse them thoroughly, this will not only reduce the enyme inhibitors but, also removes much of the bitterness associated with sesame seeds.
Now toss your soaked seeds into the blender along with a 1/2 C of water and a pinch of salt. Blend, blend and blend some more (occasionally stopping to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula) until you’re left with a thick and creamy sesame paste!
This delicious homemade tahini can keep in your fridge for about 4 days in an airtight container, if it’ll last that long! Also for variation you can stir in a lil’ honey or date syrup and you have an awesome dip for fresh fruits. For a chocolate dip, check out my post about my visit to Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe to see the video of my raw version of nutella!
I’m really digging your blogs..I’m going to have to try some of the dressing recipes..thanks for posting them!
January 15, 2009 at 1:45 am
Hey man, I gotta tell you, your blog is one of my favorites to read. Keep up the good work
January 17, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hi Denise and Pedja!! Thanks for the props on my blog and recipes! Great to hear such positive feedback and I’m glad you’re enjoying my writings! I hope you enjoy the eats! Rawk on~ Rory :0)
January 20, 2009 at 3:21 am
I love your website! But I have to say… my tahini didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped… not as tastey as the store bought ones I’ve had in the past. Could I be doing something wrong?
January 22, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Hi Tleaves! I’m gonna assume you used my recipe. The big difference between mine and store bought is that I soak the seeds prior to “tahini-fication”. This not only reduces the enzyme inhibitors but, also reduces the bitterness of the seeds. This could be good thing if you prefer less bitter but, bitter can be tasty too! So you might wanna experiment next time with either using unsoaked seeds and upping the water amount a lil’ bit, or replacing half the soaked seeds with unsoaked! Also many jarred tahinis contain added sesame oil which affects the taste as well. You can try adding some to your own version! Hope these ideas help to create your ulitmate tahini!~Rory :0) & Thanks for the love on my website!
January 22, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Pingback: Breathwork, raw-get togethers and chocolate tahini banana bon-bons! « Rawdawg Rory
Just a thought too….different kinds of sesame seeds will have different flavors. Do you use “white hulled”, “natural brown”, “pre-roasted with or without salt” There are several kinds available thru retail sources. I always order the “natural brown” because Ive been told their (unhulled) shelf life is significantly longer than the hulled varieties and Im a pantry keeper buying in bulk for a large family. I DO pre-soak mine and that brings to MY mind the idea that it’s often just a matter of recognizing that homemade tastes different because ITS BETTER FOR YOU and making that choice to recognize previous ideas as possibly WRONG and then choosing to move on a healthier path in future choices.
Im making a new recipe today…..Zucchini Hummus today w/ homemade Tahini. Found the recipe at http://www.giveittomeraw.com/video/zucchini-hummus
Great posts. Im always inspired to make many new things. Thanks
)
January 29, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Ah thats a good point too Farmschooler! I use the white-hulled sesame seeds and haven’t tried it with the un-hulled ones! I’ll have to give them a whirl in this recipe. :0)
February 6, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Can you recommend a good place to get a bulk supply of sesame seeds (instead of those teensy bottles/packets)? Love your blog, BTW.
March 21, 2009 at 10:12 am
Hey Gabrielle! The first place I would try is any of your local health-food stores that have a bulk room! They usually have them for waaaaay lower prices than the pre-packaged ones and they’re usually a lot fresher! Amazon has a lot of good sources to purchase them buy mail and you can usually get deals on the shipping which saves even more money! An online source I’ve found but, not purchased from (yet!) is http://www.nutsonline.com/ They have pretty good prices on organic sesame seeds! Happy seed hunting! :0)
March 24, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Hi Gabrielle,
I know it’s been a couple months since you posted this question, but in case you happen back here (or for anyone else reading), I buy mine (unhulled) at Whole Foods for something like $1.99 a pound in their bulk section. Definitely better than those teeny little packages!!
August 6, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Just curious, why does this only last 4 days, yet the Raw Tahini you buy in the store by Artisana lasts forever? I’m looking for a cheaper alternative to buying it in the jar, it sets me back $9-$11 every time, but I LOVE this stuff!!
March 9, 2010 at 10:00 am
Hey Caleb!
Because I soak the sesame seeds in my tahini recipe, this sparks the germination process a bit and adds water to the oils of the sesame seeds. The store bought ones aren’t soaked, so they are able to hold up longer in storage because the fats and oils are more stable when they’re not mixed with water. :0)
March 16, 2010 at 1:13 am
Thanks man. I actually just made some. Forgot to soak the seeds though, but it came out pretty good. Not as thick as the store bought. Made a PB Cup Smoothie with what was left in the bottom of the blender hopper, it came out amazing!
March 21, 2010 at 5:15 pm
You could freeze whatever you are not using in the next four days for a longer shelf life.
August 22, 2010 at 12:15 pm
HOW AND WHAT CAN WE USE TO REMOVE BITTERNESS IN ALREADY EXTRACTED SESAME SEED OIL.
CHRIS.
March 9, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Hey Chris!
I’ve not worked with sesame oil since my former cooked food days, when I’d use it for stir frying. I would try picking up some from a different supplier, who maybe is using a fresher seed or a cooler extraction process. Best wishes~ Rory :0)
March 16, 2010 at 1:17 am
Stopped by to tell you that I liked this so much that I put the recipe in an ebook I’ve created with links back to you next to recipe title, under the recipe and in the resources section of the ebook.
Keep on giving out the good stuff.
April 8, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Pingback: Raw Hummus « in which we document our efforts in raw foodism
Apparently the authors have deleted the “Raw Hummus…” blog linked above. Any other links to a Raw Hummus recipe?
August 22, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Thanks for this! It looks like an easy recipe and it will be perfect for the raw zucchini hummus I’d like to make. Not to mention, I love the idea of saving money and making my own nut and seed butters. Sesame seeds, water and salt huh?! Simple!
December 28, 2010 at 2:06 am
Hola RawDawg, really beautiful website! I am making your tahini right now…thanks.
May 22, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Love hummus and tahini
June 20, 2011 at 11:57 am
….and dont forget homemade Gomasio.
“You can sober up a drunk person, and cause his sanpaku eyes, with the whites showing beneath the iris, to come back into focus quickly from 1 or 2 teaspoonsful.” ~ READ MORE: http://www.macrodiet.com/Gomasio.shtml
June 23, 2011 at 11:32 pm
I came across your page while looking on how to make my own raw tahini.. I am a budding raw foodist and I promote raw foodism and natural living on my own informational website.. I made my first raw tahini for my last batch of hummus and baba ganoush. Yummm.. I had not realized that I should have soaked the seeds before blending them. Last time I just blended them in the food processor with a bunch of bottled water… Mine came out Yummy.. Wasn’t bitter at all.. I used the Bulk Organic Sesame Seeds both times as well.. So this time I am going to try it after soaking them for a while..
I have my bulk organic dry garbanzo beans cooking in the crock pot and I am soaking my 1 pound of sesame seeds even as I type this..
Can’t wait to try it..
Thanks for posting this page on sesame seeds an Tahini…!!!!
July 4, 2011 at 5:36 pm
HI there!
Do you sprout your seeds after soaking them? I came across another recipe which after 4 hour soak, puts the drained seeds in the fridge for another 4 hours.
I have used tahini for years, and have started making my own seed milks. Tahini milk is my favorite!
Selkie
July 20, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Hey Selkie! Your method sounds pretty good! I haven’t experimented with sprouting the sesame seeds completely before using, but it might be a fun project! I just look to liven them up, soften them a bit and reduce any enzyme inhibitors a bit when I do the soaking process. Sprouting them would add even more nutritional value to the finished tahini though! The flavor may be a lil’ different though. Gonna have to try it! Rock on ~ Rory :0)
July 20, 2011 at 3:21 pm
I just finished the soaking process, and so I will try and get them to sprout in the next 4 hours.
I have a oster blender and a food processor. One of these days I will get a Vita Mix!
July 20, 2011 at 6:48 pm
No luck using the food processor. While it worked well using the blender, with a little added water, I find the finished product quite bitter. I will try this again using organic white hulled seeds to see if there is any difference. I would really like to get this right.
July 21, 2011 at 9:25 am
i love it! thx for the recipe
January 9, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Thank you! I’ll go put some sesame seeds to soak now. I’ve already got sprouted chick peas ready… This aft I’m going to try a raw hummus recipe I found online.
January 19, 2012 at 10:41 am