Sesame Sesamum indicum Gingilli Most people associate the name sesame with the command given by Ali Baba to gain access to the thieves den in the Tales of 1001 Nights. It is thought that the bursting and scattering action of the ripe seed pods inspired this somewhat tenuous link. A native of the region which stretches from East Africa to Indonesia with evidence of its first cultivation found in the Middle East, dating back to around 3,000BC. Sesame oil was used in Mesopotamia and tablets detailing accounts and receipts for the day-to-day running of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, (600BC), list ‘best quality sesame oil’, backed up by histories written by the ancient Greek scholars record that the plant was cultivated for the oil extracted from the seeds in Babylon and in the 1st century, Dioscorides described how the inhabitants of Sicily sprinkled sesame seeds over their breads. Its name is believed to be derived from the Ancient Egyptian word, sesemt, one of the few to have passed to us in modern times, and records indicate that it was cultivated there by around the 4th century BC. It was also grown further south on the continent and gathered from the wild, especially in West Africa, where it was known as benni, a name the slaves from the region took with them to the Americas when both were transported there by the slave trade. A fragrant, nutty seed, prized for its oil throughout the ages, even though it is one of the lowest-yield crops, averaging a mere 150kg per hectare, (135lb per acre). It is, however, one of the highest quality oils, high in polyunsatruated fatty acids, delicately flavoured and slow to spoil. It arrived in India quite early via Persia, and the seeds became quite popular, ground into a paste as a thickening agent or used, as it is in the Middle East in a variety of halwa. This paste also appears in the eastern Mediterranean countries, on its own as tahini or blended with chickpeas to make hummus. The Persians also took sesame eastwards to China, where it became much prized, gaining the name ‘fragrant oil’ and used as a condiment in order not to lose the precious scent. As do the Japanese, who are thought to have used it originally as their exclusive cooking oil. The seeds themselves have been adopted as coatings and coverings wherever they were taken and, in northern Europe, this seems to have been the only use for them for quite a while. Ayurveda lists sesame oil in the sweet category, said to promote growth, to strengthen the memory, acts as an antitoxin, helps aganist burning sensations and promotes lactation in nursing mothers. Unani Tibb, the medical doctrine founded by Avicenna, uses sesame as a mild laxative, in hair preparations and in liniments and poultices. 100g sesame oil gives 881 kcalories energy, 0.1g water, 02g protein, 99.7g fat, 0.1g carbohydrate, 2mg sodium, 20mg potassium, 10mg calcium, 0.1mg iron, 0.01mg vitamin B1, 0.07mg vitamin B2 and 0.01mg niacin 100g sesame seeds = 588 kcalories, 4.8g water, 26.4g protein, 54.8g fat, 6.4g carbohydrate, 40mg sodium, 407mg potassium, 131mg calcium, 347mg magnesium, 7.8mg iron, 10.3mg zinc, 40µg carotene 0.72mg vitamin B1, 0.09 vitamin B2, 12.6mg niacin.