Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Storing tahini


della206

Recommended Posts

Same here. Peanut butter, either. Turn it upside down and put it in dark cupboard.

That's what I do with nut butters that I use often.

However, I put them on a tray with a lip because they have been known to gently leak nut oils which seem to be able to wend their way through the lid threads, no matter how tight it is closed. :blink:

Having had the experience of cleaning gooey oil and gunk off of jars, cans and etc., located on the lower shelves (industrial steel wire), I recommend prudence. :biggrin:

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same here. Peanut butter, either. Turn it upside down and put it in dark cupboard.

That's what I do with nut butters that I use often.

However, I put them on a tray with a lip because they have been known to gently leak nut oils which seem to be able to wend their way through the lid threads, no matter how tight it is closed. :blink:

Having had the experience of cleaning gooey oil and gunk off of jars, cans and etc., located on the lower shelves (industrial steel wire), I recommend prudence. :biggrin:

So true. I am always wiping everything. A little foil tray or something is a good idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do refrigerate it, but perhaps I don't need to. Peanut butter is never refrigerated in my house. Tahini sold in a glass jar seems to last longer and stays mixed and pourable, whereas the stuff in a can separates more easily and the solids can make like cement. The brands I have liked best are Sadaf and Mid-East, and both come in jars. Usually I can only find a fairly large jar, but it keeps for over a year in the fridge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tahini is sesame. Sesame oil is ~85% unsaturated fatty acids. Unlike saturated fats like beef tallow or lard, unsaturated fatty acids go rancid over time. Heat, oxygen and ultraviolet light speed up the process. When they go rancid, they release carcinogens. You can do things to reduce the rate of rancidity, e.g. storing oil in a sealed container away from sunlight and putting it in a cool place -- like a fridge. Heating unsaturated fatty acids makes them go rancid as well -- it's why you want to throw out deep frying vegetable oil after one or two uses.

If you're skipping out on things like smoking and trans fats, you'd want to skip out on rancid oils, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@percival

Nice. Love the science! I have to say I reuse vegetable oil(filtered through a coffee filter) more often than you recommend. I just give it the sniff test. You know when it's rancid. I may rethink my method.

I refrigerate my tahini, always.

Grace

Grace Piper, host of Fearless Cooking

www.fearlesscooking.tv

My eGullet Blog: What I ate for one week Nov. 2010

Subscribe to my 5 minute video podcast through iTunes, just search for Fearless Cooking

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...