Actually, I was thrilled to see what was involved in the processing of sesame seeds. I really had no earthly idea…so I thought I would share the lay person’s version of how those tiny seeds end up looking like they do on your hamburger (or veggie burger) bun.
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| The sesame grows in pods that look a lot like okra. |
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| It is stacked in sheaves to dry. |
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| They are dried and then harvested and thrashed until all the seeds are broken free from the pods. |
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| Then the main trash that is mixed with the hulled seeds is blown away using the wind or fans. |
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| The seeds are then bagged and trucked to the processing plant. The seeds are dumped into a huge cleaning machine that vibrates them along screens, knocking out the majority of the field trash. |
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| The seeds are rinsed and drained. |
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| The seeds then get moved to a big vat of water with a propeller that spins the seeds knocking off the hulls and impurities. This is then repeated in another vat. |
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They then
get sent to a drying tank that slightly heats the seeds while blowing them
around. They are then moved to a second
slightly hotter tank again blowing making sure they are nice and dry…then onto
yet third tank to cool them down.
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| After cooling they then go onto a conveyor belt where women have little vacuum tubes to suck out whatever impurities they find in between all those bitty seeds. |
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| The seeds move under a strong magnet to get any metal slivers that might have come off of the machinery. |
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| The seeds are then sent through ANOTHER inspection by more women with little suction tubes before they are bagged and shipped. |
So enjoy your sesame and appreciate all the hard work that goes into your tahini, sesame bread, sesame seed salads, etc. -Kathleen
