This is a bit embarrassing.
I bought a jar of Tahini. I opened it, and as expected, the oil had separated to the top. I tried to mix it back in.
The mass below the oil was so thick, it literally took me about 5 minutes to blend the mixture. I’ve never experienced that before. Maybe it was sitting on the store shelf too long. I couldn’t believe it.
I was thinking maybe I should have warmed it up in the microwave.
What would you do?
This happens with all my jars of good sesame paste. I use a wooden chopstick (I have lots of real chopsticks at home - not just the take out ones) and stick it in as far as it will go and slowly stir. You might need to loosen up the top part first, and then work your way down. Many take out chopsticks are probably too weak for this, so if you have at least one decent pair, that’ll work!
Edit: Just wanted to add, I usually also start by poking a hole or two (or more) as far down as I can go to get some of the oil down there. It does help with loosening it up when you start to stir.
It happens with every tahini jar. The hole making, as suggested by kobuta, is the way to go. But there’s no getting away from the fact, the process is a pain in the arse. You’ve done well to get it sorted out in only five minutes.
I’ve had some success storing the jar upside down - but not always.
I just dig out with a Spoon into my Food Processor and process till smooth. Then it goes back into the Container and into the Fridge. It usually stays homogenized for a good while and so is easy to use.
Bet you could use a Stick Blender right in the Container.
I have a really great tool for stirring separated natural peanut butter. It might work for tahini too, which I agree with @Harters is a really big pain to deal with.
I buy a few jars at a time (the brand I like, I have to get online). I shake them well on receipt, then put them upside down in my pantry. Every so often when I come across them while grabbing something else I’ll flip them the other way and, again, give them a good shake. 99% of the time that does the job and by the time I open a jar – usually at least a couple of weeks later – there’s not much work to do. But of course that doesn’t help at all if you need your just-bought tahini today.
Thanx to everyone for all the great ideas!
Something I found surprising was that after the mixing and refrigerating the jar, I was expecting to have to mix again, but it just poured out smoothly..
Warming definitely helps. I use a lot of natural peanut butter and it is far easier to re-combine the oil when everything is warm.
I’m just happy to see that I’m not the only one struggling with this. Has anyone tried those squeezable tahini tubes? I wonder if they don’t have extra ingredients to keep it smooth, and that the product quality isn’t as good — convenience be damned.
Have you tried Soom? Made locally to you. If you get it fresh and give it a shake from time to time as I mentioned above, you’ll have close to zero work upon opening the jar. (This is, in fact, the brand I was alluding to in my post.)
I have not, and I can’t seem to find their location. They are PA-based?
I was curious about the allegedly lump-free, non-separating squeezable tahini.
They are in Philadelphia as far as I’m aware. I actually discovered it after eating at Zahav several years ago; it’s apparently the brand used in their hummus. And I can attest that it’s made some truly excellent hummus on this end as well.
I think you’re right to be suspicious of any “lump free” tahini. Not sure how that would be possible without loads of emulsifiers.
Thx, I’ll see if this is available at any of the stores here 
Keeping the jar in the fridge after mixing definitely helps. That’s my go-to move with jars of tahini after I’ve opened them, though sometimes you might find yourself having to re-mix the contents a little.
Also works like a charm for the natural peanut butter we use at our house.
Yes, I remember being amazed at how long it took to remix – all the time hoping it wasn’t bad/spoiled. I remembered my mother putting a jar of crystalized honey jar in a hot water bath, so I figured a short gentle microwave session would help, and it did.
How short, please?
Depends of course on how cold/old and stiff is the poor stuff. I would start with no more than 10 seconds on 50% thawing strength and stir/check it, and go from there.
Thanks
Yep we do that too.
