It has been drunk for over 3,000 years.
Between green tea, ginseng, matcha and kombucha, the Asian continent is full of “health” drinks. Used for more than 3,000 years in Asia, a drink well known to Koreans, much less to the French, is said to have benefits for the heart and cholesterol.
If this comforting and creamy drink is particularly interesting, it is thanks to its main ingredient which is none other than black sesame, a plant known for its incredible wealth of nutrients. In France, we know white sesame seeds more than black sesame seeds. However, black sesame would be more beneficial for health. Already, black sesame is one of the foods richest in magnesium (32mg per 10g), a mineral which acts on certain enzymes responsible for excess cholesterol. Furthermore, a study published in the journal Food Chemistry showed that black sesame was an excellent source of catechins, “antioxidants that have the ability to trap free radicals (responsible for oxidative stress, editor’s note) and inhibit low-density lipoprotein cholesterol” (LDL cholesterol, nicknamed “bad cholesterol”), we can read in the researchers’ conclusions. Black sesame contains 10 times more catechins than the white version.
Still little known by the French, this Korean drink is called Heukimja-juk (literally in French “black sesame porridge”). It is a black sesame paste that is mixed in hot water or hot vegetable or cow’s milk (a drink known as “black sesame latte” in some coffee shops in France). To make this drink, you can buy black sesame seeds in the “spices” or “world cuisine” sections of supermarkets, organic stores or Asian grocery stores.
The gray color of this drink can be off-putting, wrongly because from a taste point of view, the black sesame paste recalls the “earthy” side of matcha, without the bitterness and with a nutty taste and a naturally sweet flavor.
