The Nut Factory : Kitchen : sunflower seeds

The Sesame Seed Family

Sesamum is the genus

Sesame is a staple all around the world.

Rebecca

You asked me to tell you a bit about the sesame seed. I am quite familiar with this food....

You will find the "sesamum indicum" or "Penalineae" is the Latin name for the sesame plant.

The sesame plant was first found in Asia and Africa. Sesame was extracted for oil in the biblical days in Babylonia and Egypt.

The seeds are largely consumed as a food in India and tropical Africa. A food is made by the Hindus in India , after being parched (roasted over fire) called in Arabic "rehshee". It is purchased in three grades - Grade 1 is true "S. indicum" or a pure sesame seed, Grade 2 and 3 are mixtures of seeds of lower quality.

Their use in the European countries is mainly as a source for oil. It is often used as a substitute for olive oil.

In Sicily the seeds are eaten scattered on bread, an ancient custom mentioned in the early Greek mythology. In Greece the seeds are made into cakes. In Togo, Africa it is made as a main ingredient in soup. The inclusion imparts quite a different taste.

In Africa it is a very important spice and seed oil. Sesame seeds are used for perfumery as well as for frying vegetables and meat. Seeds are also eaten raw or fried, and are used in various forms of candy and baking.

The oil is an excellent salad oil and is used in Japan for cooking fish. In China the species is extensively cultivated for the seeds to be used in confectionery or sweet items. In colonial times poorer people parched the seeds over fire, boiled them in broth, and then used them as a pudding.

In the United States over 1/3rd of the crop is purchased by McDonalds for the sesame seed buns they are famous for. The McDonald purchases set the tone for the market pricing each August. Most of our crop in the United States comes from Mexico which produces large crops on the arid lands of the central and northern provinces.

If you walk through a sesame seed field in late summer in Mexico after dark, you will hear the loud and scattered "popping" sound of the sesame plants exploding and spilling their seeds. The hot days and the cooler evenings set the stage for this loud audible fireworks display. The seeds are caught in a clean cloth under the plants and gather for cleaning and shipping.

For many years we supplied the sesame seeds to large chain bakeries. These seeds were of the washed and bleached variety called "white sesame seeds". The more natural come as a brown seed and are primarily sold to health food stores. The while seeds outsell the natural by at least a 10 to 1 margin and the price is always higher for the white seed.

Gene Cohen -----

Original Message-- From: Rebecca W

Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000

Subject: Sesame seeds

Hi I know that you mainly deal with questions about nuts but I was wondering if you could tell me the Latin name for the plant that sesame seeds come from and any other info you might have?

Thanks Becki