Sesame paste (benne paste) — the West African form of tahini, one of the oldest African oil crops. 'Benne' is the Wolof word for sesame that survived the Middle Passage to the South Carolina Sea Islands. The calcium content exceeds dairy per 100g.
Benne wafers — sesame seed cookies — are part of the Gullah-Geechee culinary heritage of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. The word 'benne' surviving from Wolof language is linguistic proof of cultural continuity from West Africa to the American Sea Islands. Black American people with Gullah-Geechee ancestry who eat benne wafers are continuing a 400-year food memory.
Sesame paste's calcium content (420mg/100g) exceeds milk (120mg/100g) — making it the most calcium-dense plant food available in paste form. For Black American communities with high rates of lactose intolerance, sesame paste provides dairy-free calcium at superior concentration. The unique lignans sesamin and sesamolin have been studied for: antihypertensive activity (reducing ACE activity and oxidative stress in human RCTs), anti-inflammatory effects (inhibiting NF-kB), and cholesterol reduction (promoting bile acid excretion). Sesamin specifically has been shown to reduce oxidative stress biomarkers in human supplementation studies. Iron at 14.5mg/100g is extraordinary for a plant food.
Buy natural sesame paste (tahini) — ingredients: sesame seeds only. Or make at home: toast sesame seeds in dry pan until golden; blend until smooth. Add to soups (similar to groundnut paste), use as a spread, or blend into dressings. Available at Middle Eastern, Asian, and health food stores as tahini; West African-style sesame paste at some African specialty stores.
Free, no account needed to ask.