Sesame Seeds

Sesame seeds are about 3 to 4 millimeters long by 2 millimeters wide and 1 millimeter thick. The seeds are ovate, slightly flattened and somewhat thinner at the eye of the seed (hilum) than at the opposite end. The weight of the seeds is between 20 and 40 milligrams. The seed coat (testa) may be smooth or ribbed. Sesame seeds come in many colours depending on the cultivar harvested. The most traded variety of sesame is off-white coloured. Other common colours are buff, tan, gold, brown, reddish, gray and black.

Sesame seed is a traditional ingredient in Asian and Middle Eastern countries where it is part of many recipes: Tahini (base ingredient for Hummus), Goma Dare/Zhi Ma Jiang (Japanese/Chinese dipping sauce), Halva (sesame cake), in many Asian dishes as flavouring oil (Japanese tempura, Chinese noodle),it is also used in pastry and bakery over the world (burger buns).

It is either hulled and then eaten as a seed in bakery and confectionary products or crushed to make oil or as an ingredient in sesame paste (tahini).