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47.8%ANMag Issue 26 Global Awareness
Sesame Seeds
By Salwa Zahabi, Staff Writer
Beirut, Lebanon – Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. This kind of plant is grown primarily for its seeds that are rich in oil. Sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) are small, thin seeds that have a tear shape, with a nutty taste and delicate invisible crunch. Sesame seeds have various colors, depending upon the variety, like cream white, yellow, red, charcoal black, brown, and a pale grayish ivory. Black and tan sesame seeds are known to be similar in flavor, while white sesame seeds are more delicate.
Sesame seeds are available throughout the year. Prime season for sesame seeds is between September and April. Sesame seeds have a short shelf life due to their high oil content. Sesame oil, on the other hand, has an excellent shelf life due to its powerful antioxidant.
It is claimed that sesame seeds first originated in India. Then from India they were introduced all through the Middle East, Africa and Asia and were brought to the United States from Africa. Currently, India, China, and Mexico are considered to be the largest commercial producers of sesame seeds.
Different countries have different usages of sesame seeds. The seeds are usually sprinkled on bread, bagels, and hamburger buns. They can also be baked into crackers in the form of sticks. In Japan, whole sesame seeds are found in many salads and in many dishes like Japanese Tempura, where are used in cakes in Greece. When ground and processed, sesame seeds can be used in sweet dishes; they can be made into a paste called tahini that can be added to hummus in various Middle Eastern dishes. Also, sesame seeds are the main ingredients in the Middle Eastern wonderful sweet treat halvah.
In East Asian cuisines, sesame seeds are used in dishes like "dim sum". In India, the seeds are sprinkled on baked goods and also put in rice and sauces. In Turkey, sesame seeds are sprinkled on simit, a special ring shaped Turkish bread. In conclusion, sesame seeds match well with bread, chicken, chickpeas, eggplant, fish, lamb, noodles, shellfish, and tahini.
Sesame seeds have many nutritional benefits. They are rich in manganese, copper, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc and dietary fiber. Sesame oil has the highest antioxidant content among the edible oils. Sesame seeds also contain phytosterols; the phytosterols that are known to be associated with reduced levels of blood cholesterol.
In addition to these important nutrients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. These substances are related to a group of some unique beneficial fibers called lignans; lignans have shown to have a cholesterol-lowering result in humans. Some researchers claim that Sesamin protects the liver from oxidative damage.
Over the ages, it was well noted that sesame seeds have been a major source of food and oil. Sesame oil is used for massage and health treatments of the body in alternative therapy, known as Ayurveda, with the different types of massages like abhyanga and shirodhara. This traditional holistic approach suggests that sesame oil is the most vicious of the plant oils, and that it is great in pacifying the health ailments associated with vata aggravation, like stress.