Talk:Sesame butter

Merge?
Another editor has suggested that this article be merged with Tahini. I agree, as this appears to be a matter of two names for the same thing. One is "is a food paste made from ground roasted sesame seeds". The other is "a paste of ground sesame seeds" (with an explanation following that some used roasted vs. unroasted seeds. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 00:56, 18 April 2012 (UTC)


 * This is a common mistake but sesame butter and tahini are two very different products. As the author of the book "Sesame Butter" and an expert in this field, I would want to clarify. Tahini is a Middle Eastern dish made from sesame butter, water, lemon juice, salt, and optionally parsley leaves and other spices. It is often made fresh but also sold as cold packaged salad with additives and preservatives. Sesame butter is a spread made from crushed sesame seeds. It is the main ingredient in Tahini, but it is also a major ingredient of many other dishes. For example, Hummus Salad, Babag Ganush, and many others.


 * It is important to distinguish the two for many reasons, including the difference in nutritional benefits, cooking usage, packing instructions, and many others. - User:tomertreves


 * How can we remove the Merge comment? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tomertreves (talk • contribs) 07:10, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Slow down. You may accept that you are the authority on tahini/sesame butter, but there are clearly others who disagree. Tahini is "a paste made of ground sesame seeds." Or, if you prefer, it is "a smooth paste of sesame seeds". Also considering them to be the same thing? The USDA. And About.com. And ochef. And many others. Joyva, the best selling brand of tahini, says it is a "creamy puree of sesame seeds." While I understand your wish to demonstrate that your product is "different" and "better", there is does not seem to be evidence for this in reliable sources. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 01:46, 21 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Agreed. While trying to find recipes for "sesame paste" I thought to be called "tahini", but as usual being confused by the SAUCE of the same name and seeing that a lot of people are now calling it "sesame butter" I consulted the wiki and became more confused by that "authoritative" statement ("...the two are often confused..."). I am certainly no expert but can only add my own anecdotal evidence...I have never purchased sesame butter but I have purchased a lot of tahini (used to make hummus and tahini sauce). Though it might make life simpler for everyone if tahini only referred to either the raw sesame paste or the sauce which it is the major ingredient, I must agree that these articles should be merged, with perhaps even a section discussing this very naming issue between the paste and the sauce. Beingzoe (talk) 23:46, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for the discussion. I researched even more and I am still convinced that the two are different and that Wikipedia should help clarify this. For example, have a look at the common brand Tahini by Sabra (http://sabra.com/products/Classic-Tahini), which details the ingredients of Classic Tahini: Tahini (Ground Sesame), Water, Citric Acid, Garlic, Soybean and/or Canola Oil, Salt, Parsley, Seasoning and Spices, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate. You can see the confusion. The first ingredient is "ground sesame" which is often called tahini in itself by mistake. But there are so many other ingredients that turn this product into tahini. Sesame Butter is the pure form of ground sesame seeds with no such additives and it is used in many other dishes. Just as Wikipedia has separate sections about Almond Butter and Peanut Butter, we should keep this article about Sesame Butter - tomertreves —Preceding undated comment added 14:18, 28 April 2012 (UTC). — tomertreves (talk&#32;• contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * The elephant in the room is your apparent conflict of interest, tomertreves. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 15:23, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Looking at the three sources that were in the article, I found that two of them did NOT mention -- let alone substantially discuss -- sesame butter. The third source was a blog (blogs are not reliable sources) which drew its only image from ... wait for it ... tomertreves' website. With 25 days gone since the beginning of the merge discussion, here's what we have:
 * no reliable sources discussing "sesame butter"
 * an obvious conflict of interest from the editor who started the article
 * discounting that editor, we have a unanimous consensus that sesame butter is tahini and the articles should be merged.
 * I'll give it until the full 30 days, then -- failing substantial policy/guideline-based arguments to the contrary, I'll redirect this article (as there is nothing sourced, there is no material to "merge"). - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 01:42, 13 May 2012 (UTC)

I understand the doubt, but please consider this again - here is a quote from a reputable expert. Paul Pitchford, author of "Healing with Whole Foods" (#3 in Amazon Best Sellers for Whole Foods) writes (in page 533) about the difference between sesame butter and tahini. While he writes about the nutritional benefits of sesame seeds and sesame butter, he calls Tahini "a refined food to avoid, lacks fiber, many minerals and metabolic cofactors necessary for complete digestion. In our experience, tahini contributes to liver stagnancy issues along with attendant emotional imbalances, namely, anger, depression, and irritability.". This adds to the clarification of the difference between pure sesame butter (which is healthy) and tahini (which is questionable) from a nationally known expert. How many more quotes would we need to be convinced about this issue? Please let me know and please allow time to collect them. Thanks! - tomertreves —Preceding undated comment added 17:12, 14 May 2012 (UTC).
 * Your previous argument was that tahini is sesame butter plus other ingredients, which you backed up with "Sabra (http://sabra.com/products/Classic-Tahini), which details the ingredients of Classic Tahini: Tahini (Ground Sesame)" (actually, that says two things: tahini is an ingredient in "Classic Tahini" and tahini is "Ground Sesame"). Now you're saying that tahini lacks various things. So? The source you're citing does not mention sesame butter. Yes, the source says tahini is "bad" and yes, you say "sesame butter" is good. That merely indicates a difference of opinion. We still have zero reliable sources stating that tahini and sesame butter are different. The only indication that these are different are from an editor with an obvious conflict of interest. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 03:23, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

I understand your concern, but please allow me to clarify. My interest in sesame butter is a hobby taken seriously. While I do have a website that promotes it, I do so out of a passion towards this specific health food. This is why I also try to maintain the subject here. Many nutritionists agree that the nutritional benefits of sesame butter are important, especially in the modern diet and within nut-free environments like schools. Tahini on the other hand is a dish made with sesame butter and other ingredients that when sold prepared and packaged in the market, is also loaded with artificial additives which give sesame butter a bad reputation. Please let me know - what kind of references would it take to keep this as a separate subject? I would be more than happy to provide them. Thanks! tomertreves —Preceding undated comment added 09:06, 21 May 2012 (UTC). — tomertreves (talk&#32;• contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * Sesame "butter" is simply raw tahini (techina golmit) without seasoning and taste additives. It is not a different product.--Geewhiz (talk) 09:14, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

With three editors in complete agreement that there are no reliable sources giving any indication that these are substantially different products -- and nothing in the article sourced -- there is nothing to "merge" here. I am redirecting the article. If substantial coverage in independent reliable sources later surfaces discussing these two as different products, we can obviously undo this quite easily. Thanks all. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 21:17, 21 May 2012 (UTC)