The Kitchen Appliance That Will Help Keep Tahini Perfectly Emulsified

If you've ever eaten Middle Eastern food, odds are, you've had tahini. Next to chickpeas, it's one of the main ingredients in hummus, as well as in baba ganoush, that dreamy eggplant dip often served with pita bread. The iconic paste is made from sesame seeds, which create its signature sweet, slightly bitter taste. When they're ground, they turn into a creamy paste, perfect for drizzling over a falafel sandwich or your favorite soup. There are myriad unexpected ways to use tahini in your cooking, but before you start adding it to every little thing (yes, it's that good), make sure you have an immersion blender around. This kitchen appliance is crucial to keeping tahini emulsified and creamy every time you pick up the jar.

Sesame seeds themselves contain about 40% to 60% oil. This means that when tahini is packaged, usually in a glass jar, the oil will eventually separate and rise to the top. The same thing also happens to natural butters, like almond butter or sunflower seed butter, simply due to the oil content in the nut or seed. The tahini you buy at the store might be fully separated when you buy it, and this texture isn't what you want to use in cooking and baking. Thankfully, you can fix it once you get home. To emulsify the paste and allow it to return to its original state, simply pour it into a bowl and use an immersion blender to incorporate everything. Immersion blenders are an accessible appliance regardless of what your budget might be; this OVENTE immersion blender is available on Amazon for just $15. Once it's all blended together, pour it back into the jar it came in. 

Emulsifying tahini is one of the absolute best uses for your immersion blender, but you shouldn't just stop there. To keep your tahini at an optimal texture, you should store it upside down. It sounds odd, but this actually will help preserve its creaminess when you're ready to use it. When you flip it back, all the oils that accumulate at the top will distribute evenly throughout the jar, rather than simply staying stuck at the top. You might want to shake it, too, just to be sure that everything's fully incorporated. And of course, don't forget to close the lid all the way; nobody wants a sticky, peanut butter-like mess in their kitchen cabinets.

In addition to storing it upside down, it's best to keep tahini in a dark and cool spot in your kitchen. Wherever you store it, make sure that it's not near any heat sources, moisture, or sunlight so it doesn't go rancid. Generally, tahini will last up to a year after it's been opened, so long as you've stored it properly. However, as always, pay attention to any signs that it's gone bad. The main indicator that it's rancid is if it smells off and tastes sort of sour. If there are signs of mold, definitely throw it out. The good news is, if you're anything like us, you'll have no trouble finishing a jar of tahini before it goes bad. It's just that delicious.