Sesame seeds are just a small part of the history of food in the world, but they are by no
means unimportant. Full of flavor and oil that has long been an essential tool for human
life, these tiny seeds are scientifically called Sesamum indicum. The name sesame comes
from a Greek word, "sesamon," and the sesame seed is a star ingredient in several global
cuisines including Middle Eastern, Asian, African, and the Mediterranean.
While there are no volatile oils in sesame seeds, they are made up of 45-65% fixed oil
predominantly made up of olein.
Sesame is called "juljulan" by speakers of Arabic, "zi mah" to those who use Mandarin,
"till" in French, "sesam" by German speakers, "gingili" or "til" in the Hindi language,
"goma" in Japanese, "gergelim" to speakers of Portuguese, "kunzhut" in Russian, and
finally "ajonjoli" in Spanish.