For a typical sauce however, the sesame seed paste is mixed together with water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and sometimes olive oil. What is tahini made of?Ī good quality tahini like ours is made entirely of sesame seed there are no other ingredients in the product. Meaning that this product is vegan, healthy, and environmentally conscious. The East Jerusalem Goods Company sources raw materials that are grown entirely organically as well as in accordance with fair trade practices. In addition to being vegan, it is also very healthy with high levels of calcium and iron.

Therefore the product is completely vegan, and even when made in to a tahini sauce it retains its vegan nature. The only ingredient in the paste is sesame seed. This creates a more fluid product that can be more easily spread or added as a condiment to other foods such as meats, breads or vegetables. This sauce is very easy to make at home by combining the paste with water, lemon juice, crushed garlic, a touch of salt, and some olive oil if desired. The paste is thick and many people like to create a sauce from it this is what you might be familiar with from a falafel stand or your local middle-eastern restaurant. This can be used raw as a spread on bread, as a topping on ice cream, or an addition to roasted eggplant amongst many other things. The tahini that you buy from the East Jerusalem Goods Company is the paste. Calcium is one of the highest components of the paste, but it is also an excellent source of magnesium, iron, protein, and healthy fats. In addition to being delicious, the health benefits of tahini are multi-fold. It can also be made in to a sauce which lends itself wonderfully to salad dressings, bread dips, and compliments meat and vegetables alike. The tahini paste can be used alone as a supplement to various dishes such as roasted eggplant, or even ice cream.

Kamel created the El Najem line exclusively for our customers, in order that our clients can know that what they receive isn’t just food, but rather is a link to the Middle-East’s past, present, and future. We believe in the links created by food between people, between places, between generations. The East Jerusalem Goods Company chose to work with Kamel for our sesame products, because of his careful attention to detail, quality, and his philosophy which like our own, dictates that a food item is more than just taste. The seeds are slowly and methodically crushed between the antique stones, and only once they have reached the perfect consistency will the stones be gradually silenced, and the tahini paste will rest before being jarred and prepared for shipping. Bought from Syria, these millstones have been grinding sesame seeds for generations, a tradition that Kamel proudly continues today. It’s from this basalt rock that Kamel’s millstones have been formed. Until 100,000 years ago, the area of the Golan Heights was home to active volcanoes the lava rolled from the high points down to the east and the west, leaving a plateau of basalt rock which makes up the Golan Heights as we have them today. Once they have passed under Kamel’s watchful eye, he begins the process of preparing the seeds for tahini production.Īt this point the story of the seeds, merges with the story of the stones. The seeds are carefully harvested and with the utmost care they are shipped to Jerusalem and Nablus, where they are inspected by chef Kamel Hashalmon. Here, our fair trade farmers produce the organic sesame seeds that are going to provide the quality and unique flavors of our finished tahini products. The story of our tahini begins in the Humera region of Ethiopia, where the altitude is perfect for sesame growth.

Buy tahini