How sesame seeds and their healthy oil add flavour to dishes, including a Chinese dessert


Sesame seeds give you a lot of bang for your buck or, to put it more elegantly, a lot of flavour for their size.

The tiny seeds of the Sesamum indicum plant, which have a very high oil content, are even more flavourful when toasted.

This is easy to do with a small, inexpensive Japanese tool called (what else?) a sesame-seed toaster: a flat pan with a mesh hinged lid that you lock into place after putting in the seeds.

The lid allows you to shake the pan vigorously without the seeds jumping out if they pop (as they sometimes do) over the heat.

Most people think sesame seeds are either black or white, but they can also be grey or golden. Photo: Shutterstock
Most people think sesame seeds are either black or white, but they can also be grey or golden. Photo: Shutterstock

Most people think sesame seeds are either white (they are actually pale tan) or black, but they also come in colours including grey and golden. They are used in many parts of the world, including Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *