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History and lore of sesame in Southwest Asia

L’Histoire Et Le Savoir Du Sésame Dans Le SudOuest Asia

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Abstract

The crop’s domestication and subsequent dispersal are reviewed from the archaeological literature and early texts. The introduction of sesame represents an agricultural innovation in Southwest Asia, since as a ‘ropical’ warm weather crop, sensitive to freezing temperatures, it is successfully grown in the region as a summer crop, by selecting cultivars that mature early. Its seeds are used as food and flavoring. The chief constituent of the seed is its prized oil, 45–60 % by weight that resists oxidative rancidity. It is used as a salad or cooking oil, an ingredient in cosmetics, in the manufacture of soaps, Pharmaceuticals, and lubricants, and was formerly used as a lamp oil. The press cake remaining after the oil is expressed is a nutritious livestock meal. Information about medieval cultivation practices and evidence of its use in early centuries is extracted from historical manuscripts. Examples of sesame in art, myth, proverb and riddle from Southwest Asia provide a comparative, cross-cultural view of its service as a symbol. A survey of culinary, medicinal and linguistic data is presented. The status of its cultivation in the last century is represented by a rare look at practices in Armenia, Syria and Yemen.

Résumé

Ceci est un portrait botanique, culturel et historique d’utilisation de sésame dans le sud-ouest Asie, du temps le plus ancien jusqu’au présent. La domestication de culture agricules et la dispersion suivante, est passée en revue de la littérature archéologique et des textes tau temps jadis. L’introduction du sésame représente une innovation agricole, puisqu’elle est une culture de temps chaude, sensitive aux températures de congélation, mais est avec succès développée dans la région comme culture d’été, par le choix des cultivars qui mûrissent le plus ôt. Sa graine est employée comme nourriture et assaisonnement. Le constitutif en chef de la graine est son huile estimée, 45–60 % en poids qui résiste à la rancidité oxydante. Il est employé comme une huile salade ou de cuisine, un ingrédient en produits de beauté, dans la fabrication des savons, des pharmaceutiques, et des lubrifiants, et a été autrefois employé comme huile de lampe. Le tourteau restant après que l’huile soit exprimée, est un repas nutritif de bétail. Des informations sur des pratiques culture lles et l’évidence médiévale de son utilisation en siècles tôt sont extraites à partir des manuscrits historiques. Les exemples du sésame dans l’art, le mythe, le proverbe et l’a devinette fournissent une vue comparative et transculturelle de son service comme symbole. Un enquête sur les données culinaires, médicinales et linguistiques est présentée. Le statut de sa culture en dernier siècle est représenté par un regard rare aux pratiques en Arménie, en Syrie et au Yémen.

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  1. Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis and Missouri Botanical Garden

    Dorothea Bedigian

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Bedigian, D. History and lore of sesame in Southwest Asia. Econ Bot 58, 329–353 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0329:AR]2.0.CO;2

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