Toasted Sesame Seeds

[suel]

Recently I've come across a couple of recipes calling for toasted sesame seeds. I'm assuming the ones I buy in the jar are NOT toasted. My question is, how do I toast them?

Incidentally, I'm a "newbie" and I like what I've seen so far on this site.

[SoCal]

Welcome Suel! I'm sure someone else will come up with a better way but I just put them in a 'dry' fry pan on medium (or so) heat and keep stirring them around. They will start popping a little but I just keep them on the heat until they brown a little. Hope that helps!

[Jewel]

Depending on where you're located, if your market carries the Asian food brand 'Sun Luck' they have two different types of sesame seeds in jars. One simple white sesame seeds, the others toasted. If you can't locate these and want to make your own, I agree with SoCal about using the dry frying pan, but watch 'em closely or they'll burn! If you're toasting large amounts, I do them like nuts by spreading them on a baking sheet and toasting at 350-375 for about 8-10 minutes, shaking them in the sheet halfway through just to get them evenly toasted.

You'll like toasted nuts and sesame seeds, it brings out the nutty flavor more than just using them raw, and from a Cooking Light standpoint, you can use fewer nuts or seeds and get just as much flavor. Good luck!

[Jessica]

I just sprinkle on a piece of foil and put them in the toaster oven at @350-400 until they start to pop (1-2 mins).

[Carrie W]

Hi Suel,

I also use the "dry roast" method with a small skillet on the stovetop. I've found that this works best when I only need a small amount of nuts toasted for a recipe, and it's worked with sesame seeds, walnuts, and pecans. As Jewel said, oven toasting is good for large amounts of nuts, but I feel guilty heating it up for only a handful.

[catharine]

I am going to try that frying pan method. I usually toast them in the oven. My bottle of sesame seeds says 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. However, I wait and wait and then poof, they seem to go from raw to burnt in the blink of an eye. Thanks for the pan suggestion.

[suel]

Thank you everyone. I toasted some using the dry fry pan method last night and it worked fine. I like cooking Asian food and think maybe I'll try the oven method to do a lot and then I'll have them on hand when I need them.