Halawe
SIDON, Lebanon: Lebanon and surrounding countries from Syria to Jordan and Palestine are famous for their Levantine cuisine. But you cannot make many of these special dishes without one crucial ingredient: tahini. Tahini is a thick, tan-colored paste made from ground sesame seeds. Lebanon has become one of the leading producers and exporters of tahini to all corners of the world. Wherever there is a Lebanese community you will find tahini, and Lebanese people have built factories as far as the United States to manufacture the precious paste.
No one knows exactly when tahini-based dishes were originated. According to ancient stories, the Turks and Greeks were the first to produce tahini, which made its way around the Mediterranean to become an important part of the region’s cuisine.
Tahini is a main ingredient in the Lebanese cuisine, especially in Lebanese hommos with tahini. Tahini is also used to produce the sweet specialty halawa which is made from a mixture of the sesame paste and sugar syrup.
Across Lebanon there are dozens of factories that produce tahini and halawa – enough to supply the local market and to export the products.
Mounir Bsat owns one of Lebanon’s oldest factories in Sidon producing tahini and halawa, founded in 1904.
“Our factory is one of the first to make a halawa and tahini in Lebanon and the Arab world,” Bsat boasts, trumpeting the popularity and quality of his products.
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