The top bar contains the five core kitchen stops. Open How to get around or search for every other tool and reference page.
Substitutions · 23 dishes here use it
Nothing much until they are toasted, then nutty and fragrant. Toast more than you need and keep them — they go stale fast in the cupboard and instantly in the pan.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
83% of the 23 dishes here that mention sesame seeds already list it as optional. Before you look for a replacement, check whether you are in one of them.
Functional substitution system
For sesame seeds, the page's working definition is: Nothing much until they are toasted, then nutty and fragrant. Toast more than you need and keep them — they go stale fast in the cupboard and instantly in the pan. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
Instead · 1
one for one
Instead · 2
half as much
Instead · 3
a teaspoon per tablespoon of seeds
These dishes list sesame seeds as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company sesame seeds keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.