Sesame seed candy

By location

Ancient Greece and Rome

Similar foods are documented in Ancient Greek cuisine: itrion (ἴτριον) was a thin biscuit/cake made with sesame seeds and honey, the Cretan koptoplakous (κοπτοπλακοῦς) or gastris (γάστρις) was a layer of ground nuts sandwiched between two layers of sesame crushed with honey. Herodotus also mentions "sweet cakes of sesame and honey", but with no detail. The kopte sesamis (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), or simply κοπτὴ, was a cake made from pounded sesame; the ingredients suggest that it was similar to similar to the modern Greek pasteli.

Greece and Cyprus

In modern Greece and Cyprus, sesame seed candy is called pasteli (παστέλι

Indian subcontinent

Various kinds of sesame candy are found in the south Asian cuisine. Sesame candy in the forms of rewri/revri (a candy coated with sesame seeds), as well as gajak (a sugar or jaggery sweet with sesame seeds), is widely eaten in northern India and Pakistan; the cities of Lucknow and Chakwal are very famous for it. The Assamese tilor laru is an Assamese breakfast snack. The Maharashtran tilgul ladoo is a ball of sesame and sugar flavored with peanuts and cardamom and associated with the festival of Makar Sankranti.

China

Sesame seed candy is called hei zhima su 'black sesame crisp' in Chinese. Traditionally it is made with nuts (including peanuts, almonds, and walnuts) or dried fruits (including raisins and dried goji) and primarily with black sesame.

Vietnam

A variety of sesame seed candy containing peanuts, alongside sesame seeds and granulated sugar, is produced in the central Quảng Ngãi province where it is referred to as kẹo gương. It is believed to have been produced in the region for more than 400 years.

Iran

In Iran's Mazandaran Province, it is a popular local candy made in various festivities such as Nowruz and Yalda night. It is usually made as thin layers and may contain walnuts, almonds, pistachios or other nuts.

Poland

Sezamki are a traditional Polish sesame seed candy made from toasted sesame seeds bound together with caramelized sugar or honey. These thin, crunchy bars are a beloved sweet treat in Poland, often enjoyed as a quick snack or dessert.

Australia

"Sesame snaps" a small crunchy/crisp rectangle, made with sugar,nutty and sweet a popular children's school snack in Australia.

Gallery

File:Ajonjoli-HappyCocoBites dulces tipicos de puerto rico.jpg|Puerto Rican sesame seed candy File:Kefalonian pasteli.jpg|A Greek pasteli File:Μελεκούνι.jpg|A Greek melekouni File:Gur Rewari (a kind of Gajak) from Lucknow, a traditional Indian snack made with Jaggery and crunchy sesame seeds in the form of crispy bars.jpg|Gur Rewari ("Gud-til gajak") from India File:2024 Sezamki (2).jpg| Thin wide sezamki from Poland

Notes

References

1. Mark Grant. (1999). "Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens". Interlink Pub Group Inc.
2. ''[[Deipnosophists]]'' '''14''':647, discussed by Charles Perry, "The Taste for Layered Bread among the Nomadic Turks and the Central Asian Origins of Baklava", in ''A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East'' (ed. [[Sami Zubaida]], [[Richard Tapper]]), 1994. {{ISBN. 1-86064-603-4. p. 88.
3. Herodotus, [[Histories (Herodotus)
4. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dkopto%2Fs Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κοπτός]
5. Christina V. Dedouse. (2006). "Μενανδρου Σαμια". Κεντρον Ερευνης της Ελληνικης και Λατινικης Γραμματειας.
6. [[Georgios Babiniotis. G. Babiniotis]], [[Babiniotis dictionary. Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας]]: "παστέλι."
7. [https://beemuseum.gr/melekouni/ Bee Museum, Melekouni]
8. (2000). "New Indian Home Cooking: More Than 100 Delicious Nutritional, and Easy Low-fat Recipes!". Penguin.
9. "黑芝麻酥糖的做法_黑芝麻酥糖怎么做_零零落落2011的菜谱_美食天下".
10. VnExpress. "Kẹo gương, đặc sản bình dị đất Quảng Ngãi".