Sesame query

[marycrawford]

On a whim, I've bought a bag of black sesame seeds at the Asian supermarket. I'm making sushi tonight, and usually I make a couple of inside-out rolls, with the rice on the outside covered by a coating of toasted sesame seeds.

I've just never used black sesame seeds instead of white. A quick Google tells me that

a) they can both be used in sushi
b) they taste the same
c) they don't taste the same, black sesame is smoky and bitter
d) don't toast the black ones, they'll turn bitter
e) do toast the black ones, that'll bring out the flavor.

I plan to experiment, but does anyone have useful tips? And maybe some killer recipes for black sesame seeds? (I bought a big bag. *g*)

Comments

[dgcandace.livejournal.com]

I've been hoping someone would chime in about the sesame seeds! I'm curious.

I recently found an Asian market not too far away and I'm so excited. I moved to Wisconsin (AKA white people land) six years ago after living in Greek/Mexican/Korean/etc multi-ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago where I could buy all kinds of interesting food. I had really been missing the stores. Now I found one--yay!

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant to answer earlier! I did try the black sesame seeds, and they worked great - toasted them a bit and put them on the outside of a sushi roll. There is a definite taste difference, the black ones taste stronger, nuttier and smokier, and I liked the taste a lot. I think the seeds would go well in noodle dishes and such, too.

Yay for the Asian market! It's one of the things I love about living in my city, too - the Indonesian/Chinese/Turkish/Moroccan stores have so much good stuff.