Can Tahini Go Bad? Does Tahini Expire: A great Middle Eastern condiment prepared from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds is called Tahini or Tahina. Are you a lover of the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean, the south Caucasus cuisines?
Then, you would love tahini to eat. If you are planning to make any of the cuisines that require tahini and it is sitting in your pantry for a long time. Are you in a dilemma to use it or not? Do you know if can tahini go bad or not? No idea, jump into this informative guide with no delay.
Also, you have the scope to learn how to tell if it goes bad, how to store it fresh, whether can tahini needs a refrigerator, how long tahini stays good for, and many more along with does tahini go bad.
- Does Tahini Go Bad?
- Signs of Spoilage? | How to Tell If Your Tahini Is Bad?
- Other Signs That Are Not Considered As Tahini Spoilage
- How Long Does Tahini Last?
- Tips for Storing Tahini
- Does Tahini Need to Be Refrigerated?
- FAQs on Can Tahini Go Bad – How to Know if Tahini is Bad?
Does Tahini Go Bad?
No, tahini doesn’t go bad so easily yet it can go bad at some point either dries out or rancid. This will happen when you act carelessly while storing your tahini jar. As tahini is a shelf-stable spread, you can use it for a longer time past the best-by or expiration date. But remember to not sit the jar after 6 months past the expiry date, it may be good but avoid consuming it for best health.
Sometimes, your tahini looks pretty nice to eat but it might be not good enough no longer. Also, there are various spoilage signs along with rancid and dry-out signs take a look at them too in the next section.
Signs of Spoilage? | How to Tell If Tahini Is Bad?
If you want to check if your tahini is okay to use or not and are confused to identify then here comes a savior. Just look at the below signs of spoilage and easily understand whether your tahini is bad or not:
- Mold: Looking for mold growth is a common sign of spoilage but on tahini, you can see the mold rarely. If your tahini is mold just throw it immediately.
- Taste: When your tahini is sitting for a longer time and you want to use it after a gap in your recipe then check the taste a bit. If it tastes strong or sour and not like sesame seeds then it goes rancid. So get rid of it.
- Smell: In case the smell of the tahini is sharp and like chemicals or petrol or paint then it goes rancid. Toss it right away as rancid food is not safe to eat.
Also Check: Can Pesto Go Bad
Other Signs That Are Not Considered As Tahini Spoilage
There are some other signs that may look like spoilage but actually not. Want to get more clarity on it? Check the below subparts and understand whether your tahini is fine or not.
Separation | Separated Tahini
Tahini is prepared from sesame seeds along with a bit of salt and oil occasionally. Sesame seeds are a fat-based food ingredient that contains a lot of oil which leads to separation. Separated tahini means a layer of oil that is separated on the surface of your tahini. So, it is perfect and safe to eat after a good stir. If you like to eat the dry tahini then you can discard the oil which is separated on the surface.
To consume the perfect consistency tahini, you have to stir the paste before you use but you will see the dry bottom of the jar at the end. If you are trying to stir and it’s hard to do it then use this simple trick. Take a hot water bowl and place the jar in it to soften and try stirring it after 20 to 30 minutes. If you get the correct consistency then enjoy the spread as you do every time, if not repeat the trick for another 10-15 minutes.
Texture
You are new to tahini and don’t know what is the texture of it. It has a viscous oily texture. When it sits for a long time without use then it separates the oil at the top and dries at the bottom. From brand to brand, it changes the texture and taste of tahini so try a bit if possible before changing to another brand of tahini.
Also, some companies sell tahini with roasted seeds everything seems the same but they add extra oil for a smoother texture.
Dark Specs
Are you wondering about the dark specifications on the surface or near the jar lid of the tahini? Don’t worry, about the dark specs in your tahini. You know that there are two kinds of sesame seeds that are different in color. The black specs are most probably part of the hull which wasn’t ground correctly.
However, these dark specs do not really affect the quality or taste of the product. Thus, you can treat them as a safe sign. But sometimes it may suddenly build up due to mold growth that time you should toss it for sure.
Do Refer: Can Guacamole Go Bad
How Long Does Tahini Last in the Fridge? | Can You Eat Expired Tahini?
Mostly the shelf life of tahini is about one to three years and also stays good for extra months past the printed date on the label. There is no exact answer to how long tahini stays good either unopened or opened or homemade. The shelf life of sesame paste aka tahini depends on numerous factors.
- If the jar gets opened then it starts to lower the taste and freshness of the tahini. So, the shelf life for opened tahini is shorter than the unopened jar of tahini.
- One more factor that you should consider is whether it is made at home or store-bought. The store-bought will last up to the best-before date printed on the label and it varies from brand to brand. When it comes to homemade tahini, lasts for about a couple of days to 1 week due to the lack of preservatives.
- Also, you can consume the tahini after the best-by date for a couple of months when it is stored properly in the pantry or in the fridge. The storage conditions also play a major role in estimating the shelf life of tahini. Check the below section where we have covered completely the tips to store tahini fresh for a longer time.
| Conditions | Pantry | Refrigerator |
| Tahini (opened) | 4-6 months | 6-12 months |
| Tahini (unopened) | Best-before date +6 months | 12 months+ |
| Store-bought tahini | 4-12 months | 6-12 months |
| Homemade tahini | 1-3 days | 1 week |
Always remember that the above periods are estimated as per the experience or according to the surveys. You can even download the image and share it with others to spread awareness about the tahini shelf life.
Tips for Storing Tahini
Here we are going to provide you with some tips on how to store tahini.
- Tahini should be stored in cool and dry places and away from contact with heat sources like direct sunlight.
- Also, the jar or container of your tahini needs to be sealed tightly after use.
- It is so helpful to use a clean spoon and don’t do double dipping. Through this, you can avoid reaching any microbes or water content in your sesame seed paste.
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Does Tahini Need to Be Refrigerated?
Tahini is a shelf-stable kind of food item so you can store it in the pantry or in the fridge based on its availability. Refrigerating tahini is completely up to your decision and the storage conditions you choose.
Both unopened and opened can be refrigerated but unopened ones are not a good idea. If you store the opened jar of sesame paste in the fridge it helps retain good quality for a longer time than the pantry ones.
Also, some brands instruct the users to store it in the refrigerator for the best quality and some suggest leaving it in the kitchen store just like peanut butter. If you want to know the storage practices of peanut butter do check this guide called can peanut butter go bad?
However, you should remember that tahini sitting in the fridge for a long time makes the paste thicker like ice-cream consistency. So, sometimes it’s tough to use the thick paste in the recipes you need to wait for a while to thaw it completely. Also, you can fix the texture by adding some water or sesame seed oil.
FAQs on Can Tahini Go Bad – How to Know If Tahini is Bad?
1. What does bad tahini taste like?
The taste of bad tahini is bitter, sharp, and funky just with other nuts and seeds spreads. The smell of the expired tahini is musty and stale.
For extending the shelf life of tahini, you can opt for the freezing tahini storage method. After freezing the tahini you can’t get the same texture and also the paste might not be as smooth and viscous. You can freeze tahini in so many ways as mentioned below:
- Using resealable bags
- Make tahini ice-cubes
- Preserve leftovers in airtight containers
3. Can expired tahini make you sick? is expired tahini safe to eat ?
No, after the expiration date also you can eat tahini for a few weeks or months if stored properly in the fridge or freezer as it prolongs the shelf life of tahini. If you find any of the spoilage signs after expiration then it makes you sick if not you can happily opt for consuming.
4. How long is Tahini good for after opening?
Tahini’s shelf life is pretty much longer than other nut and seed spreads. After opening the jar of the sesame paste, it can stay up to the best before or expiry date printed on the label plus some extra time which depends completely on how you store the paste.
Key Points
We hope the shared data on Can Tahini Go Bad will help you a lot in knowing the shelf life, storage tips, and spoilage signs. After knowing all such details you can easily store the sesame seed paste and use it in the correct way at the right time.
Also, you can check other dips and spreads articles on our site canfoodgobad.com and gather all necessary information in no time and get awareness on the same.