What is Tahini? Does it break? How is it consumed?

by Abbas Jahangir · September 4, 2021

What is Tahini? The favorite of breakfasts, the best friend of molasses: Tahini. It is almost a healing store with its tahini content that cheers the palate with its taste. It protects heart health, strengthens bones and prevents premature aging of the skin. It is a food rich in calcium and omega 3 fatty acids.

In this article, we focused on tahini. What is tahini, how is it consumed and is there any harm in tahini? Here are the answers to all these questions!

What is Tahini?

Tahini is obtained from sesame. Also known as Tahan.
Quality sesame seeds are sieved, their shells are separated, the sesame seeds are washed and roasted at 200°C for 3 hours. The temperature of the roasted sesame seeds is expected to reach room temperature. Finally, the sesame seeds are crushed and thus tahini is obtained.
It has a slightly more liquid consistency than putty.
Apart from our country, it is produced in our neighbor Greece, India and the Middle East countries.
Tahini is a food with high nutritional value in terms of components, vitamins and minerals.
When the contents of tahini are examined; It contains unsaturated fatty acids, which are very beneficial for human health. It protects heart health and reduces the risk of stroke. Thanks to the calcium and omega 3 fatty acids in its content, it strengthens the bones. It is skin friendly and delays the signs of aging.
It is usually consumed alone or mixed with foods such as honey and molasses for breakfast.
Apart from breakfast, it is also added to bakery products.

Tahini Harms and Side Effects

Tahini is a food high in sugar and fat. 1 tablespoon of tahini is about 87 kcal calories. Therefore, when consumed in excess, it gains weight. For this reason, people who are obese and have weight control problems are not recommended to consume tahini. Tahini consumption should be limited to a maximum of 2 tablespoons per day.
Tahini is obtained from sesame. Sesame is an allergenic food. Tahini is also a dangerous food for those with sesame allergy.
It can cause chronic inflammation due to the sugar and unsaturated fatty acids it contains. Chronic inflammation is responsible for many autoimmune diseases.
Since it increases the glucose level in the blood, it should be consumed in a controlled manner by diabetics.

Does Tahini Go Bad? How is it stored?

Tahini should be stored in a dry and cool place. It should not be exposed to direct sunlight. The pantry or groceries are ideal areas to store tahini.
If you are not going to consume the tahini right away, it may be much better to store it in the refrigerator. However, if you are going to consume it in a short time, it is not recommended to store it in the refrigerator. Because tahini solidifies in the refrigerator. This makes it difficult to use. Let’s say you have opened the lid of the tahini, but if you are not going to use it again for a long time, then you can store it in the refrigerator.
Care should be taken to close the lid of the tahini tightly.
Tahini does not have a suitable environment for the reproduction of microbes in terms of content. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether tahini spoils should be “it does not spoil easily”. Why do we say that it does not spoil easily, because we cannot say that it is impossible to spoil. In very rare cases, deterioration can occur.
How can you tell if the tahini is spoiled? If there is mold in the tahini, if blue-green layers have formed on its surface, and if it smells bad, it should definitely not be consumed.

How is Tahini Consumed?

Tahini is usually mixed with molasses and consumed for breakfast in our country. Of course, it can also be consumed alone.
It is used to make bakery products, especially cakes and pastries.
It is used as an alternative to sugar in making cakes and cookies.
It is preferred in making hummus and in some special sauces.
Since it is high in sugar, it should be eaten in moderation.

Is Tahini Weakening?

Tahini is a rich source of vegetable protein, omega 3 and calcium. When these 3 substances come together, they accelerate fat burning. So tahini is a food that helps to lose weight. Of course, when consumed in moderation!
In addition, it gives a feeling of satiety for a long time with the vegetable protein and oils in the content of tahini.