sesame

sesame
/ses"euh mee/, n.
1. a tropical, herbaceous plant, Sesamum indicum, whose small oval seeds are edible and yield an oil.
2. the seeds themselves, used to add flavor to bread, crackers, etc.
3. See open sesame. Also called benne (for defs. 1, 2).
[1400-50; < Gk sesáme sesame plant Akkadian shamashshammu, derived from shaman shammi plant oil; r. sesam, late ME sysane < L sesamum < Gk sésamon sesame seed]

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Erect, annual plant (Sesamum indicum) of numerous types and varieties in the family Pedaliaceae.

It has been cultivated since antiquity for its seeds, which are used as food and flavouring and yield a prized oil. The hulled seeds, creamy or pearly white and tiny, have a mild, nutlike aroma and taste. The whole seed is used extensively in the cuisines of the Middle East and Asia. Sesame oil, noted for its stability and its resistance to becoming rancid, is used as a salad or cooking oil, in shortening and margarine, in the manufacture of soaps, pharmaceuticals, and lubricants, and as an ingredient in cosmetics.

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plant
also called  Benne,  
 erect, annual plant (Sesamum indicum) of numerous types and varieties belonging to the family Pedaliaceae, cultivated since antiquity for its seeds, which are used as food and flavouring and from which a prized oil is extracted. The whole seed is used extensively in the cuisines of the Middle East and Asia. halvah is a confection made of crushed and sweetened sesame seeds. In Europe and North America the seeds are used to flavour and garnish various foods, particularly breads and other baked goods. The aroma and taste of sesame seed are mild and nutlike.

      The chief constituent of the seed is its fixed oil, which usually amounts to about 44 to 60 percent. Noted for its stability, the oil resists oxidative rancidity. It is used as a salad or cooking oil, in shortening and margarine, and in the manufacture of soaps, pharmaceuticals, and lubricants. Sesame oil is used as an ingredient in cosmetics. The press cake remaining after the oil is expressed is highly nutritious.

      Probably originating in Asia or East Africa, sesame is now found in most of the tropical, subtropical, and southern temperate areas of the world. Before the time of Moses, the Egyptians used the ground seed as grain flour. The Chinese used it 5,000 years ago, and for centuries they have burned the oil to make soot for the finest Chinese ink blocks. The Romans ground sesame seeds with cumin to make a pasty spread for bread. Once it was thought to have mystical powers, and sesame still retains a magical quality, as shown in the expression “open sesame,” from the Arabian Nights tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

      Depending on conditions, varieties grow from about 0.5 to 2.5 m (2 to 9 feet) tall; some have branches, others do not. One to three flowers appear in the leaf axils. The hulled seeds are creamy or pearly white and about 3 mm (0.1 inch) long and have a flattened pear shape. The seed capsules open when dry, allowing the seed to scatter. Considerable hand labour is needed in harvesting to prevent loss of the seeds. With the development of a nonscattering variety of the plant in the mid-20th century, mechanized harvesting of the crop was made possible.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • sésame — [ sezam ] n. m. • 1570; sisame 1500; suseman XIIIe; lat. sesamum 1 ♦ Plante oléagineuse, originaire de l Inde. Huile de sésame. Gâteau aux graines de sésame. Confiserie au sésame. ⇒ halva. 2 ♦ Loc. (par allus. au conte d Ali Baba) Sésame, ouvre… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • SESAME — Sésame (homonymie) Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sésame peut faire référence à : sésame, une plante et sa graine, Un sésame désigne un moyen infaillible pour atteindre un but ou… …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • sesame — mid 15c., probably from M.Fr. sisame, from L. sesamum (nom. sesama), from Gk. sesamon (Doric sasamon) seed or fruit of the sesame plant, via Phoenician from Late Babylonian *shawash shammu (Cf. Assyrian shamash shammu sesame, lit. oil seed ).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Sesame — Ses a*me, n. [L. sesamum, sesama, Gr. ????, ???: cf. F. s[ e]same.] (Bot.) Either of two annual herbaceous plants of the genus {Sesamum} ({S. Indicum}, and {S. orientale}), from the seeds of which an oil is expressed; also, the small obovate,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • SESAME — steht für: SESAME (Synchrotron), Synchrotron in Jordanien ehemalige Bezeichnung für ein europäisches Programm zur Verbesserung des Flugverkehrsmanagements, siehe Single European Sky ATM Research Programme (SESAR) Sesame (Framework), Open Source… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • sesame — ► NOUN ▪ a tall herbaceous plant of tropical and subtropical areas, cultivated for its oil rich seeds. ● open sesame Cf. ↑open sesame ORIGIN Greek s samon, s sam …   English terms dictionary

  • sesame — [ses′ə mē΄] n. [altered (infl. by Gr) < earlier sesama < L sesamum sesama < Gr sēsamon, sēsamē, ult. < Akkadian shaman shammī, oil of plants] 1. a plant (Sesamum indicum) whose flat seeds yield an edible oil and are used for flavoring …   English World dictionary

  • Sesăme — (Sesamis, gr. Ant.), s.u. Sesamum …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Sesame — Taxobox name = Sesame image width = 250px image caption = Sesame plants regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Lamiales familia = Pedaliaceae genus = Sesamum species = S. indicum binomial = Sesamum indicum… …   Wikipedia

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