Tahini, to refrigerate or not to refrigerate?

[larry_stewart]

I've always refrigerated opened cans/ bottles of tahini in the past.
My wife recently asked me to pick some up cause she was making a tahini/ oatmeal cookie ( which turned out not to be so good, although Ive had tahini chocolate chip cookies that were outstanding). Anyway, I was making hummus today, searched the fridge and couldn't find it, so I asked her where it was, and she replied , in the drawer next to the peanut butter. I then replied, doesn't it have to be refrigerated ? and she said, it didn't say anything about it in the bottle .

Now I know that every time ive refrigerated it, it gets as hard as a rock, and very difficult to get the solid and oil to mix. This bottle, at room temp was perfect consistency.

Also got me thinking that peanut butter doesn't have to be refrigerated, so Im just looking for some confirmation here.

 

[Janet H]

Just a guess on this one but... some tahini is made from roasted seeds and some from raw. I betting the raw would quickly get rancid (just like unroasted nut butters).

 

[WhateverYouWant]

Before I started making my own, I always stored it along with nut butters in the refrigerator. Just make sure you stir it up really well before you put it in and that will help keep it from separating.

 

[pepperhead212]

Definitely refrigerate it. Roasted or unroasted hulled sesame seeds quickly go rancid. If you use it quickly, maybe you don't have to, but I don't use it that quickly. Peanut butter takes longer, but it does go rancid; I found an open jar when cleaning out Mom's kitchen, that was rancid - though the sell by date on was slightly after I found it, it was opened well before it, and that got the oxygen in there. (The jar didn't go to waste - I used the rest of it in traps, and squirrels don't mind rancid peanuts). I've also found rancid peanuts in trail mix type things, which is why I won't buy them any more.

What I never could figure out, is that the oriental roasted sesame oil does not go rancid...ever! Unroasted and roasted hulled seeds, and raw sesame oil go rancid, but not that. Unhulled seeds don't go rancid (at least in the year and a half I tested a small amount of them), but this is typical - unhulled seeds seem to stay ok, but as soon as they are broken, the oils are exposed. Unfortunately, the unhulled sesame seeds don't get that same flavor when roasted. I tried this years ago, and it just didn't work. So all of my sesame seeds stay in the freezer; when the roasted jar gets empty, I roast another batch, so they're always there!

 

[HeyItsSara]

peanut butter and techina definitely can turn. guess how i found that out!

 

[taxlady]

I store my tahini in a cupboard. I turn it upside down, so the oil floats to the top, which is the bottom. I always stir it before use. I tried storing in the fridge, but it got hard and was more difficult to get out of the jar until it came to room temperature. I always sniff it before I use it, because I always worry that it has been in the cupboard too long and will have become oxidized / rancid. I don't remember it ever getting oxidized / rancid.

 

[larry_stewart]

Peanut butter goes extremely quick in this house. Ive never had an issue with that. Actually, the other day, with nothing left to do at home since we did everything, we cleaned out some of our pantry drawers just to find 6 jars of gourmet, oragnic peanut butter (and other nut butters )that were started , probably not liked, and pushed to the back. My wife has a thing for going to different festivals, getting hooked on some gimmicky crap, and then spending like $10 + on a jar, just not to like it. She always claims it never happens, until we unearthed the evidence the other day. Anyway, we turned lemons into lemnaid!! I collected a bunch pinecones that were knocked off the trees during the recent storm, and we covered them with peanut butter, then dipped in bird seed and hung around the yard. Those birds got treated to some expensive treats.

 

[Just Cooking]

I'm surprised to see that peanut butter turns..

I don't believe that I have ever refrigerated it.. Perhaps its used more frequently than in homes of those who have had it go bad..

Ross

 

[skilletlicker]

In the past I've kept Tahini in the icebox. Opened this bottle of Ziyad brand in the last month or so. Label says no refrigeration needed; after opening store in a cool dry place. So I left it out. So far so good.

 

[pepperhead212]

I'm surprised, skillet, as the brands I've gotten always say to refrigerate after opening. That got me curious about that brand, but when I checked it out, it says "no artificial flavors or preservatives".

I looked at my tahini - Soom - and it says to refrigerate after opening. I also looked at the peanut butters I have here - Skippy ultra chunky, in my kitchen, says nothing about refrigerating, but that one I still have on the back porch from Mom's kitchen, a Jiffy, actually says "no refrigeration required. and that's the one that's rancid.

I had a Peter Pan go rancid on me, one time - a small jar, and it doesn't take me that long to go through that much! I just never bought it again, and I've never had to refrigerate others, even large jars. But those who don't go through it so quickly, would probably be better off refrigerating it.

 

[taxlady]

We bought some "all natural" peanut butter and it said to refrigerate it because it was "all natural".

 

[skilletlicker]

I'm surprised, skillet, as the brands I've gotten always say to refrigerate after opening. That got me curious about that brand, but when I checked it out, it says "no artificial flavors or preservatives".

I looked at my tahini - Soom - and it says to refrigerate after opening. I also looked at the peanut butters I have here - Skippy ultra chunky, in my kitchen, says nothing about refrigerating, but that one I still have on the back porch from Mom's kitchen, a Jiffy, actually says "no refrigeration required. and that's the one that's rancid.

I had a Peter Pan go rancid on me, one time - a small jar, and it doesn't take me that long to go through that much! I just never bought it again, and I've never had to refrigerate others, even large jars. But those who don't go through it so quickly, would probably be better off refrigerating it.

Regarding peanut butter: I've never refrigerated it nor had store-bought go rancid, but since you brought it up. I've made peanut butter twice in the new Vitamix. First time with one pound of raw shelled peanuts. Never really got a continuous vortex going if you know what I mean. Every few seconds I'd stop it and tamp it down. Texture wasn't like chunky PB but sort of grainy and very very thick. I'm thinking the problem was not enough volume. Second time I shelled two pounds of roasted peanuts, yielding 24 ounces of nuts and let her rip for a full minute. Gave it 15 minutes to cool down from ~190°F and then blended another full minute. Still a little grainy, not as much though, but much thinner; too thin I think. I'm keeping in the fridge because the cold thickens it enough to be spreadable.

Dave, I know you're a nut butterer from way back. Any advice?

 

[Cooking Goddess]

skillet, add a wee bit of peanut (or, I suppose, a neutral) oil to make it smoother. I buy Smuckers Natural; it always has a generous amount of oil on top of the peanuts - what appears to be far more than would be expressed from just peanuts alone. I actually pour off much of that oil to use elsewhere or to add back to the peanut butter as it gets used - it seems to become dryer, probably because all of the butter wasn't moistened enough when the oil was first mixed in.

We bought some "all natural" peanut butter and it said to refrigerate it because it was "all natural".

I've read that the reason a manufacturer suggests refrigeration is to make sure the oil doesn't separate from the solids. When PB is stored at room temp, the oils float if the peanut butter isn't homogenized. I keep our jar in the pantry and haven't had rancid PB even though it's Smuckers Natural. We eat it in spurts; sometimes a jar is gone within a month, sometimes not for six or more.


Sorry for hijacking the thread, larry.

 

[larry_stewart]

skillet, add a wee bit of peanut (or, I suppose, a neutral) oil to make it smoother. I buy Smuckers Natural; it always has a generous amount of oil on top of the peanuts - what appears to be far more than would be expressed from just peanuts alone. I actually pour off much of that oil to use elsewhere or to add back to the peanut butter as it gets used - it seems to become dryer, probably because all of the butter wasn't moistened enough when the oil was first mixed in.


I've read that the reason a manufacturer suggests refrigeration is to make sure the oil doesn't separate from the solids. When PB is stored at room temp, the oils float if the peanut butter isn't homogenized. I keep our jar in the pantry and haven't had rancid PB even though it's Smuckers Natural. We eat it in spurts; sometimes a jar is gone within a month, sometimes not for six or more.


Sorry for hijacking the thread, larry.

Good info is good info No sorries necessary

 

[pepperhead212]

skillet, As CG said, add a little extra neutral oil, to get it circulating in the VM. You can also make tahini in the VM - I add some neutral oil, to get that circulating, and it makes it as smooth as any you can buy. Strange thing, though - much less oil separates from the tahini that I've made, than that which indicates that the makers of commercial tahini add much more oil.

 

[taxlady]

...

I've read that the reason a manufacturer suggests refrigeration is to make sure the oil doesn't separate from the solids. When PB is stored at room temp, the oils float if the peanut butter isn't homogenized. I keep our jar in the pantry and haven't had rancid PB even though it's Smuckers Natural. We eat it in spurts; sometimes a jar is gone within a month, sometimes not for six or more.


Sorry for hijacking the thread, larry.

It still separates. They even mention the separation. I just grab a knife and stir it back in, same as I do with my Dijon mustard.