Tahini aka Sesame Paste

[RSteve]

I use sesame tahini for hummus and baba ganouj. For some reason, it's gone up considerably in price, anywhere from $8.00 to $13.00 for a one pound jar. Years ago, a friend had a bagel shop franchise and used to buy sesame seeds quite inexpensively in 50 lb. bags. He told me that he'd make his own tahini in his Vitamix blender. I thought I'd give it a try after seeing many recipes on line. I searched for cheap sesame seeds but was, for the most part, unsuccessful until I found a site that specializes in Indian food.
A 5 lb. bag is $12.00 plus shipping. It could be too good to be true, but I had my daughter order it via her PayPal account. I don't have a Vitamix but do have a Blend Tec and a Breville Pro. Success or failure, I'll report back.

 

[Blackhorse]

RSteve: well DUH! EVERYTHING has gone up in price, especially foodstuffs, etc. All across the country, food supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have contributed to the increase in food prices. There are labor shortages along several links of the food supply chain, including production, point-of-sale staffing, and even delivery. Fuel price increases are also involved. You just posted a big thing about your natural gas costs going up dramatically. This is fallout.

Good job searching out the low cost site. I have found sites like that for items that I use a lot of…like Curry Powder, Greek Sea Salt, Dried Rosemary, etc. It’s like McCormick price = $10/oz. Website price = $10/lb.

In order to prevent everyone from posting a “sky is falling” thing about the various specific costs in their lives going up just know that EVERYTHING is going up. I remember paying 25 cents a gallon for gas to fill my car’s tank. Bread used to cost a nickel. Advise used to be FREE!

 

[Zeno Marx]

I haven't purchased any in a while, but Indian grocery stores are great for sesame seeds. I think I paid something like $3 for a 1LB bag in the Indian aisle of a grocery store specializing in ethnic foods.

 

[RSteve]

I remember paying 25 cents a gallon for gas to fill my car’s tank.

It's encouraging that your memory is intact.
I can't remember my original post in this thread.

 

[Blackhorse]

What?

 

[RSteve]

RSteve: EVERYTHING has gone up in price, especially foodstuffs, etc. All across the country, food supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have contributed to the increase in food prices. There are labor shortages along several links of the food supply chain, including production, point-of-sale staffing, and even delivery. Fuel price increases are also involved.

When I placed my order the sesame seeds were $12.00, 5 lb. bag. I ordered two bags. Today, $27.00 per bag, a 225% increase in price.

Making tahini was really easy, but I did not follow any of the recipes I found online. They all had making a mixture of seeds and oil before putting in a food processor. I put a cup of dry seeds in my Breville Pro blender and burst blended until the seeds were like a fine flour. I then added a tablespoon of dark toasted sesame oil and a tablespoon of olive oil. I ran the blender and slowly added grapeseed oil until the tahina had reached the consistency I wanted.

 

[RSteve]

I remember paying 25 cents a gallon for gas to fill my car’s tank.

In 1972, in Duluth, MN, there was a "gas war". Ethyl was 15.9 a gallon during the height of the war. I had a 1964 Plymouth Belvedere with the 383 c.i. V-8. Fill'er up was about $3.00.

 

[Asher Sood]

Finding Tahini paste has always been a struggle for me. Finding the one that tastes right and is pocket-friendly was a task until I discovered this site which specializes in South Asian cuisine and has all the good stuff. Additionally, I also used a couple of recipes before but now I prefer buying it directly as it saves me a ton of time.