Halvah- The Mediterranean Makeover of Sesame Seeds

Halva is any of various dense, sweet confections made in the Middle East, Central and South Asia. It is a traditional sweet made with honey, flour, butter, and sesame seeds or semolina, pressed into loaf form or cut into squares. Halvah comes with a variety of colourings and flavourings. Its texture is characteristically gritty and crisp.

In some versions, sugar and nuts, often pignolia nuts or blanched almonds, are substituted for the more traditional honey and sesame seeds. In either case, the sweet syrup is added to a sautéed mixture of butter, nuts, and farina. These are blended thoroughly, then covered and cooked until all the syrup is absorbed. The candy is often sprinkled with cinnamon or served warm or cold with whipped cream.
Nowadays halva is much appreciated dessert in almost half of the Europe (if you add on Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and big part of Russia to the Balkan states). Nevertheless, the Middle East still offers the biggest variety of halva. But this sweet is more and more on demand in other countries, notably UK and US, because of the great beneficial properties.

The Handmade traditional Greek Halva is made from tahini (crushed hulled sesame seeds), glucose syrup 41%, sugar 5.5%, and vegetable oil 2%, with additional different textures (nuts) and flavors.

Halva is rich in B vitamin, E vitamin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium and antioxidants. Regarding the calorific value, the combination of ingredients, sesame and sugar, it is a long-lasting and nutritious source of high energy and is also believed to rejuvenate the cells of the body. It is a delicious vegetarian and healthy food for adults and children, too.

A 1-ounce serving of halva has about 131 calories, 3.5 grams of protein, 17 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of fat, or about 9 percent of the daily value for fat. Only 1.2 grams of this fat is the unhealthy saturated type, however, with the rest coming from healthier unsaturated fats. Halva also provides a small amount of fiber, with 1.3 grams, or about 5 percent of the DV.

While halva isn’t a particularly good source of vitamins, it does provide significant amounts of a number of minerals. Each 1-ounce serving has 17 percent of the DV for copper and phosphorus, 15 percent of the DV for magnesium and 12 percent of the DV for manganese. You need copper for forming red blood cells, phosphorus and magnesium for forming DNA and manganese for healing wounds.

You may also call it the oldest food supplement in the world, as halva contains a lot of essential minerals, fatty acids, dietary fiber, proteins, aminoacids and other useful elements. But stay sane and indulge this dessert in a moderate way because of the high sugar content. Up to 30 g of halva should be enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.