Sesame Seeds, White and Black

White and black sesame seeds are available in Oriental groceries, in small plastic pouches weighing from 2 to 4 ounces. They are a far better buy than the tiny bottles of sesame seeds one gets on a spice shelf in a supermarket, and are usually fresher. If you cannot buy sesame seeds in an Oriental market, purchase them in bulk at a whole foods store where you can first sniff the seeds for freshness. Buy the whitest (actually pale, pale golden) white sesame seeds you can find, and be watchful for packages that contain chaff or a lot of discolored seeds. Black sesame seeds should also look clean in the package; they are often sold as “black goma” under a Japanese label.