The BEST Creamy Tahini Sauce Recipe | Ambitious Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why is my tahini not creamy? ›

Tips for Making Creamy Tahini:

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.

If it is too bitter, stir in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey. And if the flavor is too sharp, mellow it with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon olive oil.

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.

Oil — To help the tahini become a creamy smooth paste, we add a few tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil. Try avocado, extra-virgin, olive, vegetable, and grape seed oil.

But tahini has a thin consistency, which means that it won't stay put on the moist, slick surface of a fish fillet. To thicken the tahini and give it some holding power, the solution is a bit surprising: We stirred in 2 teaspoons of juice. You'd think that adding a liquid would thin tahini rather than thicken it.

Wondering what rancid tahini tastes like? Not great. The good news is that you'll definitely know if tahini has expired. The taste will be sour, kind of metallic, and just plain weird.

It will have a noticeable, sharp rancid smell.

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.

Because tahini contains no extra ingredients or emulsifiers, it can—and usually will—separate into oil (on the top) and solids (at the bottom), just like an all-natural peanut butter. A quick stir or shake should be enough to return it to a cohesive pourable or spoonable state.

Do you refrigerate tahini after opening? ›

Refrigerating tahini certainly won't harm it, however, and keeping it cold will slow the process of oil separation. The Soom website even notes that you can keep it in the fridge if you prefer “a more spreadable texture.”

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.

Add the tahini, herbs (if using), salt and cumin and blend until creamy. Thin with cold water, added 2 tablespoons at a time, until you have a perfectly smooth sauce.

The downside, though, is that since a good organic tahini should not have any ingredients in it other than sesame seeds, it often separates. Without those common chemical emulsifiers and stabilizers, you usually end up with a hard, dry paste on the bottom of the jar, with a thick film of oil on the top.

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.

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.

Although its shelf life can vary depending on factors related to how it is made, such as roasting, it will generally stay good for months, if not years. Like other nut and seed pastes, expired tahini has a musty, stale smell and tastes noticeably bitter and funky.