Black sesame

Sésame noir

What it is

The ripe capsule splits with an audible snap, and the story goes that this is where open sesame comes from. Black seed is simply seed that has not been hulled: the pigment, most of the bitterness and the mineral edge all live in the skin that white sesame has had rubbed off.

In the kitchen

You cannot judge them by colour, so go by sound: dry pan, medium heat, shaking, and pull them the moment they start to jump and smell — two to three minutes. Grind them warm in a suribachi; cold, the oil will not release and you are left with grit.

Goes with

Rice Soy sauce White sugar Spinach Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Honey Salt Kabocha

Same species

Black sesame paste Chinese sesame paste Rāyu Sesame Toasted sesame oil

Also used with

Black glutinous rice Brown rice syrup Japanese chestnut Shiratamako Warabi-ko (bracken starch) Wasanbon sugar

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