Great Gomasio (Sesame Salt)

I suggest that you toss the salt shaker and make up some of this great tasting condiment. The Japanese are the longest living people on earth and this is what they grace their tables with instead of the white sodium chloride we use everyday. Reduce sodium while adding a little calcium, magnesium, iron, protein, and fiber to your next meal.

Gomasio is made by grinding dry-roasted sesame seeds with salt. You can purchase it prepared from Eden Foods, but it's easy to make, and the fresh-roasted sesame seed ensures the best nutrition.

5 Health Benefits of Sesame Seeds:

1) Sesame seeds contain sesamin and sesamolin, substances that are part of a group of fibers called lignans, believed to prevent high blood pressure and protect the liver against damage.

2) Sesame seed is a good source of Vitamin E that can help increase fertility and strengthen the heart and the nervous system.

3) Half cup of sesame seeds contains 3 times more calcium (600 mg) than half cup of whole milk.

4) One of the greatest health benefits of sesame seeds is that it is high in phytosterols. These compounds can lower LDL cholesterol and improve heart health and balance the immune system. Sesame seeds are one of the highest phytosterol content of common foods (400-413 mg per100grams).

5) Black sesame is a traditional medicinal food used by patients to recover from lung infections and fever. The seeds replenish the body’s essential minerals lost during illness. Black sesame seeds are high in calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus. These minerals help to support the circulatory, immune and the nervous system.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw, unhulled sesame seeds (black or white or mixed)

1 tsp. unrefined grey sea salt or pink rock salt

Instructions:

1) Place seeds (any color - black, brown, red, yellow, tan, ivory, etc.) in a clean, dry, frying pan and toast on low heat, stirring often, until warmed gently (10-12 minutes)

The longer, lower-temp toasting will result in more even heat distribution that reduces damage to the oils in the seeds.

2 Allow the seeds to cool for about 10 minutes, then place in a small electric grinder with the salt and pulse a few times until most of the seeds are cracked open. Be careful not to grind to a flour consistency; you want some of the texture of the seed to remain. If you don’t own a coffee/spice grinder then grinding it by hand with a Janapese mortar and pestle works well.