Tahini Recipe (Super Easy & Creamy) (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.

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.

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.

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.

Making your own tahini at home is not only easy, it's cost effective and super delicious! This recipe requires just 2 ingredients, 20 minutes, and a food processor to prepare!

When tahini is mixed with lemon juice (or any acid), the acid begins to break down the emulsion of oil and solids in the tahini. This can cause the mixture to seize or thicken and clump together suddenly as the oil separates from the other components.

When that happens, just spend some time and elbow grease to mix it back together again. if the tahini was stored in the fridge, it might take longer because everything will be harder. Just leave it on the counter for a while until it gets to room temperature before mixing it back together.

Tahini "seizes up" when a small amount of water-based liquid is added but the emulsion has not yet inverted. It's not really a problem. As more liquid is incorporated, the emulsion will invert and things will become smooth again.

What happens if you put too much tahini in hummus? ›

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.

How do you know if tahini has gone bad? Signs of spoilage for tahini include a bitter, rancid smell, mold growth, or separation. Separation is not always the case as tahini sitting on the shelf for a prolonged period unused can also cause separation. It will also have a bitter taste.