The Science of Spice

Flavour Group | TOASTY PYRAZINES | Sesame 169

BLENDING SCIENCE

Untoasted sesame seeds carry very subtle flavours from compounds such as furfural and hexanal.

When roasted or toasted, proteins and sugars on the outer layers of the seed react with one another

to form hundreds of new compounds, including nutty, flavourful pyrazines.

Kitchen

creativity

Sesame is used in everything from sweets such as Indian til laddoos and Middle

Eastern halva to savoury dips and dressings such as tahini and hummus. The

Japanese sprinkle gomashio, a sesame-and-salt condiment, over rice and noodles.

FOOD PARTNERS

Bananas and apples Sprinkle

toasted seeds over apple or

banana fritters.

Vegetables Sprinkle black seeds

over a noodle and vegetable salad with

a spicy Szechuan dressing, or scatter

over roasted kale or asparagus.

Oily fish Coat tuna or salmon

in seeds before pan frying.

Chicken Coat chicken legs in a

ground black sesame, soy, and honey

glaze before baking or grilling.

Pulses Roll falafel in raw seeds

before cooking.

Baking and sweets Sprinkle raw

seeds over bread dough before baking,

or make sesame brittle with honey,

butter, and white seeds.

PYRAZINES AND

2‑FURYL‑

METHANTHIOL

nutty | coffee |

roasted meat

FURFURAL

sweet | bready |

almondy

HEXANAL

green | grassy |

leafy

pair with more furfural

spices to intensify baked

bread flavour:

tamarind brings

caramel-like furfural flavour

vanilla’s complex mix

of compounds adds depth

to sweet flavours

emphasize the nutty

flavours of toasted seeds:

paprika adds sweet

earthiness

wattle’s pyrazines

overlap with toasted sesame

seed, bringing in notes of

wood smoke and chocolate

complement the

green aromas:

poppy seeds are

packed with similar grassy

aldehyde compounds

bay’s green, fresh

flavour is heightened by

shared hexanal

RELEASE THE FLAVOUR

When sesame seeds are toasted, proteins

and sugars on the outer layers react to

form new compounds, including

roasted-nut pyrazines and the

sulphurous, coffee- and roasted

meat-like 2-furyl methanethiol.

130ºC (266ºF) –

180ºC (356ºF)

Higher concentrations of phenolic defence

compounds alongside the pigments convey a

stronger, slightly bitter flavour.

Pale sesame seeds varieties have slightly less oil

and more moisture, giving them gentler flavours

of honey, caramelized milk, and vanilla.

work best for strongly

flavoured recipes

used to make pastes

and added to sweets

Black or white?

Darker seeds carry heavier, spicier aromas, and are better suited for savoury recipes. Pale

varieties are ideal for mixing with milder spices and for cooking with butter. Unhulled seeds

have a faint bitterness, due to oxalates in the external layers, designed to deter pests.

Proteins and sugars react together at

temperatures above 130°C (266°F). Fats inside

the seeds burn and produce acrid flavours at

around 180°C (356°F), so toast with care.

SESAME

Se

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