The best tahini starts in Tigray, Ethiopia, ground zero for the world’s most coveted sesame seeds.
It was a good year for sesame in Ethiopia. The reliable hard spring rains had ended abruptly in time for July’s planting, and the frost held off until late November, giving the seeds time to turn bright white and plump up with oil. Of the dozens of sesame varieties, it’s the buttery, complex Humera seeds that produce the best tahini, prized throughout the Middle East and beyond. And those sesame seeds start here in the rich soils of Humera, a town dotted with mud huts in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, near the Eritrean and Sudanese borders.
This story is from the February - March 2017 edition of Saveur.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February - March 2017 edition of Saveur.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Raising a Better Bird
Blue Apron founder Matt Wadiak has moved onto greener pastures, where happy chickens roam free.
One Good Bottle
Tamara Irish is a natural winemaker. Way natural.
My Not-So-Secret Garden
Good (vegetable-laden) fences make good neighbors in one tiny town.
Pralines: How They Cook 'Em in New Orleans
Pralines: How They Cook ’Em in New Orleans
My Father's French Onion Soup
Postwar Paris had a lifelong influence on James Edisto Mitchell—both as an artist and a cook BY Shane Mitchell
Our All-Time Best Recipes
If anyone should know if a recipe’s a keeper, it’s the person tasked with making sense of the original instructions—from the far reaches of Sri Lanka, say, or a famous chef who measures nothing. This might explain why many test kitchen staffers named favorites that their predecessors had tested and recommended. (Though a couple put forth recipes they developed themselves.) And while Saveur never shies away from the oddball authentic ingredient, the fare on the following pages is the stuff we cook at home, over and over again. Consider it global comfort food.
Genever Is the Original Juniper Spirit
Don’t call it a comeback. Or gin
Tending The Bines
Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves.
Field Of Dreams
The son of an innovative pea farmer is carrying on his father’s legacy.
Jamaican Jerk Marinade - Fire And Spice
Jamaican jerk is more than a marinade—it’s a smoky, flame-grilled cooking style that uses the best ingredients of its home island.
