Sesame seed candy facts for kids
Three varieties of sesame seed candy.
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| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Unknown; possibly Ancient Greece |
| Main ingredients | Sesame seeds, sugar or honey |
Did you know that "sesame candy" can also mean a different sweet called halva?
Sesame seed candy is a yummy sweet treat made from sesame seeds mixed with sugar or honey. It's often pressed into a flat bar or a round ball. You can find this popular candy all over the world, from the Middle East to South Asia and East Asia.
This candy can be soft and chewy or hard and crunchy, depending on how it's made. People call it by different names like sesame bar or sesame crunch. Sometimes, "sesame seed cake" might mean this candy, or it could be a type of cake or cookie that has sesame in it.
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Sesame Candy Around the World
Sesame seed candy is loved in many countries, and each place often has its own special way of making it!
Greece and Cyprus: Pasteli
In Greece and Cyprus, this sweet is known as pasteli. It's usually a flat, long bar made with honey. Often, nuts are added to make it even tastier.
Even though the name pasteli comes from Italy, people in Ancient Greece made very similar treats a long, long time ago! For example, the Cretan koptoplakous or gastris was a sweet with ground nuts between two layers of sesame and honey. The ancient writer Herodotus also wrote about "sweet cakes of sesame and honey."
Indian Subcontinent: Rewri, Gajak, and More
You'll find many kinds of sesame candy in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent.
- Rewri or Revri is a candy covered with sesame seeds.
- Gajak is a sweet made from sugar or jaggery (a type of unrefined sugar) with sesame seeds.
These are very popular in northern India and Pakistan. The cities of Lucknow and Chakwal are famous for their delicious Rewri and Gajak.
In Assam, India, there's a breakfast snack called tilor laru. It's a type of sesame ball. In Maharashtra, people make tilgul ladoo, which is a ball of sesame and sugar. It often has peanuts and cardamom for extra flavor. This sweet is a big part of the Makar Sankranti festival.
Vietnam: Kẹo Gương
In the central Quảng Ngãi province of Vietnam, there's a special sesame seed candy called Kẹo Gương. This candy includes peanuts along with sesame seeds and sugar. People believe that Kẹo Gương has been made in this region for over 400 years!
Images for kids
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Puerto Rican sesame seed candy
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A Greek pasteli
