Sesame wonder

We were just talking about sesame seeds and sesame oil when i came across this article in Ode magazine. I love the smell of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. We had a breakfast burrito of an omelette with quick-boiled spinach, mushrooms, garlic and onion, with crushed toasted sesame seeds. Yummmmy!  And so, reading this article makes me want to come up with more recipes using sesame seeds 🙂

Open sesame (oil)!

The healthy properties of sesame oil are no fairy tale.

Elbrich Fennema | June 2011 issue

Most fairy tales contain universal truths about good and evil, growing up, quests, the truth, the grail. For the most part, the truths lie hidden in parables and metaphors. And sometimes the truth lies so much on the surface that we can easily overlook it. For example, the idea that sesame is so healthy that it opens the path to hidden treasures. Ali Baba’s famous spell—Open sesame!—is pretty much literally true, but with all the robbers and caves around, the fact can escape our attention.

In the Middle East, where this tale from The Thousand and One Nights originated, people have eaten sesame seeds and tahini (a sauce made from sesame seeds) for centuries, so they knew whereof they spoke. Now science confirms the benefits of sesame and particularly of sesame oil. Roasting sesame not only makes it aromatic and nutty, but because of its great number of antioxidant phenols, the oil that results is a strong antioxidant. The result is a phenomenal type of fat that does not clog arteries but keeps them clean and open.

Look for high-quality roasted sesame oil exclusively from sesame seeds and not cut with any inferior oil. Because of its delicious aroma and ability to tolerate high temperatures, this oil is perfect to use in stir fries. A couple of drops on cooked broccoli are also delicious; a couple of drops in vegetable soup give it a fragrant strength; and it does wonders for a salad dressing. Then sesame’s magical effect will begin to work on the inside.