Tahini Recipe (Super Easy & Creamy) (2024)

FAQs

Why is my tahini not smooth? ›

The key to smooth and runny tahini is to give it time, so keep blending. Transfer to a container and enjoy!

When a small amount of lemon juice (or water) is added to the tahini or peanut butter, the hydrophilic dry particles are drawn to the water. As a result, it clumps up. As water is added, more clumps develop, causing the tahini to thicken overall.

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.

A small amount of added water acts like a glue, wetting particles just enough to get them to stick together, but eventually if you add too much water, the mixture turns into an evenly thinned-out liquid.

The velvety smooth texture is achieved by using raw, HULLED white sesame seeds. You can also buy them unhulled, which means the thin outer shell is left on, but you will end up with a grittier end result.

When the tahini seizes up or tightens, keep adding the water, bit by bit (about 1/2 cup total), until the sauce is smooth, creamy, and thick. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and cumin, if necessary.

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.)

As I said earlier, tahini has a mildly bitter flavour, so if your hummus is bitter, you've most likely added too much tahini. Also make sure that the tahini you do have is hulled, as opposed to unhulled. Hulled tahini just means that the bitter husks on the outside of the sesame seed have been removed before blending.

Warning: Don't eat too much tahini! A couple of tablespoons a day is all you need. Anything more than that can increase your cholesterol levels. Here are 7 ways tahini – a food you already know and love – can keep you on track to your healthier lifestyle this year.

Bitterness is generally part and parcel of tahini - it's how ground sesame seeds taste. What you will find, however, is that some tahini can taste more bitter than others. This is down to a few things; like how that particular tahini is processed, or the levels of something called oxalic acid in the hulls of the seeds.

Why does tahini go bad? ›

Soom Tahini can last for a year after opening. The only thing that will make tahini “turn” is contamination with moisture. That's why we always stress using a clean, dry utensil when scooping that liquid gold from the jar. What happens after owning tahini for longer than its shelf life?

What do I do? If you've followed the instructions and your tahini still isn't getting creamy after 10-15 minutes of processing, you may have to add more oil. Add in 1 tablespoon increments until you reach the desired consistency. If it's still not getting creamy, it may be an issue with your food processor.

So here is my super easy way to stop tahini separating! All you need to to is take it all out of the original jar and put it into a mini food processor. Process it until it is all smooth – make sure to hold on to the processor to keep it steady as there are some big lumps of sesame that it is trying to get through!

Tahini that hides in the fridge for too long (or stored in fridges that feel more like freezers) can turn chunky and hard. So hard you'll feel like you need a cement mixer to get things moving again. That's why, if you are storing your tahini in the fridge, make sure the temperature of your fridge is not too cold.

Your tahini has expired if it has an unpleasant taste and smell. Additionally, if you see obvious signs of spoilage like a change in color and visible mold growth, it's time to toss the jar of tahini.