The taste varies from bitter and claggy to nutty and creamy. How do you find the right one?
Most, if not all, recipes that feature tahini don’t specify whether to use the hulled or unhulled type. Should I assume it’s always the hulled one, unless otherwise stipulated? And would you use a specific type for a particular dish? I’m not sure they’re interchangeable, because there seems to be a distinctive taste difference.
John, London SE23
I’m delighted by this question, because I think I’m usually way too prescriptive and unwavering about tahini, so the fact that you find me vague on the matter makes me smile.
Putting on my prescriptive hat (again), though, I feel so strongly about tahini, because there is such a range, from the bitter and claggy to the smooth, nutty and creamy. Tahini is just sesame seeds ground to a paste, and, as with all seeds and nuts, there is such a variety in what you end up with (think, say, how different one walnut can taste from the next, from rancid to wonderful).
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