Tahini Sauce Recipe (5 Minutes!) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

FAQs

Why is my tahini not creamy? ›

Adding a few tablespoons of mild-tasting oil is helpful.

This helps the tahini become more smooth, creamy, and drippy.

Do you need to refrigerate tahini? We recommend storing your tahini in a cool and dry area, away from heat and moisture. Ideally, a pantry a cabinet would be ideal. Like peanut butter, you can also store tahini in the refrigerator if you like it thicker.

When tahini is mixed with lemon juice (or any acid), the acid begins to break down the emulsion of oil and solids in the tahini. This can cause the mixture to seize or thicken and clump together suddenly as the oil separates from the other components.

You can balance bitterness of tahini by using other ingredients with complementary flavors. Some popular options include lemon juice, garlic, honey, and maple syrup.

Tahini paste is just ground sesame seeds. Period. In comparison, tahini sauce is made by thinning the paste to a consistency similar to a thick cream, typically by adding other ingredients. My family's recipe adds lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil to our tahini sauce.

As the amount of water is increased, more clumps develop, causing the tahini to thicken overall. If you keep adding water, eventually you'll cross over the threshold of thickening it; enough water in the system will cause the tahini to loosen and thin out.

Once you get your jar of tahini home, you want to open it up and give it a stir to make sure it's incorporated. (If the oil has fully separated, such as in the photo above, Food editor Joe Yonan uses an immersion blender to reincorporate it, after which he says it stays emulsified.)

If your tahini is dry, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, add more water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency. Then, taste and adjust your seasonings. If you prefer a brighter sauce, add more lemon. If it is too bitter, stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey.

The taste will be sour, kind of metallic, and just plain weird. Utilizing a trusty sniff test is another way of finding out if it's time for your tahini to take a one-way trip to the bin. But something that's important to remember is that ground sesame seeds do naturally have a slightly earthy, bitter aftertaste.

Tahini offers multiple health benefits as evidenced by scientific studies and research. Its enormous nutritional value makes it an essential component of our daily diet.

Does Trader Joe's have tahini? ›

Trader Joe's Organic Tahini provides the perfect balance in this recipe, and allows it to transcend seasons-drizzle it atop roasted broccoli salad in the winter, or on grilled chicken & spinach salad during the warm summer months.

Some people may experience an allergic reaction to sesame. Foods to avoid if they have a sesame allergy include foods containing sesame seeds, sesame oil, and tahini.

The trick is to add small amounts of water and then completely work that into the tahini. Repeat until it is nice, creamy and smooth. You might want to taste periodically and balance with lemon juice, etc.

It's perfectly natural for the oil in tahini to separate out in the jar. In fact, if it doesn't, it's a sign that a chemical emulsifier has been added to it, so avoid that brand in the future. Just stick a spoon in and give it a good stir and it will be ready to use.

“Tahini has a slight bitterness that most other nut or seed butters don't,” says Andy. “It's quite savory. You want it to taste earthy, nutty, and rich.” But if that bitterness tips over into astringency—that mouth-drying sensation that you get from a tannic red wine—that is not the tahini for you.

Tahini also has selenium. It acts as an antioxidant and helps lower inflammation in the body. Studies show sesamol, a natural chemical found in sesame seeds and sesame oil, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging benefits. Other studies suggest it also has strong anti-cancer effects.

Unfortunately, most supermarket brands of tahini are overroasted and separate into a dense, spackle-like paste with an unpleasant aftertaste, which can ruin hummus or a simple sauce. A premium tahini should have a nutty, bittersweet flavor and creamy texture.