Gomasio
Condiment
Top 10 pairings
Gomasio (ごま塩, also gomashio) is a dry Japanese condiment of toasted sesame seeds and salt ground coarsely together. Nutty, salty and faintly oily, it is sprinkled over rice, vegetables and grains, and is a staple seasoning in Japanese home cooking and in macrobiotic diets the world over.
Picking a good onedrag
Freshly ground, loose and toastyCaked, flat, rancid
Sound jarEveryday bestA home batch a week or two on, or a good jar lately opened. Dust it over onigiri, sekihan, steamed greens, tofu, noodles and salads.
Smell at the jarQuieter - still nutty, but you have to put your nose right in to find the roast underneath
How it movesPinching together a little from the oil, but it still breaks apart and pours
The roast on the seedPatchy - some seeds a shade darker than their neighbours from an uneven pan, no harm in it
Read the labelSesame and salt plus nori, dried shiso or other seeds - an enriched jar, and still gomasio