Grublin treats sesame as a hard rule. When you set it, every recipe request states it as a critical safety constraint, and the finished recipe is re-checked by Grublin's own code against a list of sesame and the foods made from it, including tahini and the houmous built on it. Ingredients labelled sesame-free are recognised and allowed. Grublin is a free recipe app for iPhone and Android.
Sesame is the finishing touch nobody mentions
A scatter of seeds over the noodles. A drizzle of toasted oil on the stir-fry. A spoon of tahini in the dressing. Sesame is usually the last thing added and the first thing forgotten, which is exactly what makes it hard to avoid. It is also the hidden half of houmous, the base of halva, and part of a lot of Middle Eastern, Japanese, Chinese and Korean cooking, where it carries the flavour rather than decorating the plate.
Grublin keeps track of all of it. Set sesame once and the seeds, the oil and the foods made from them are kept out of every recipe.
What the check catches
Sesame, by name. Sesame seeds, sesame oil, toasted sesame and black sesame all contain the word and are caught.
Tahini. The sesame paste behind dressings, sauces and a lot of baking, under the spellings tahini, tahina and tehina.
Houmous and hummus. Both spellings, because both are made with tahini.
Spice mixes and dips. Za'atar, dukkah and furikake, which usually contain sesame seeds, and baba ganoush, which is usually made with tahini, under its common spellings.
The sweets and seasonings. Halva or halvah, the sesame sweet; gomashio, the Japanese sesame salt; goma, the Japanese word for sesame, as in goma dressing; and benne, an old name for sesame seeds.
Allowed through. Ingredients labelled sesame-free, such as a sesame-free houmous, so a recipe using them is not falsely rejected.
If any sesame term appears anywhere in the finished recipe, Grub writes another, and you only see the one that passed.
What the check does not catch
- Blends under other names. Shichimi togarashi, some Middle Eastern spice blends and ready-made seed toppings can contain sesame without the word. A recipe that names only the blend is not caught.
- Sesame in products. Burger buns, bagels, seeded breads, crackers, some curry pastes and shop-bought dressings contain sesame without the recipe needing to say so. The check reads ingredient names, not product labels.
- Cross-contamination. Bakeries, shared oil and takeaway kitchens.
The check lowers the chance of sesame reaching your plate. Read the label on anything from a packet, a jar or a bakery.
Sesame-free and something else
- Sesame-free and nut-free. Many households avoid seeds and nuts together. Set tree nuts, peanut and sesame and tahini, houmous, pesto, satay and praline are all out at once.
- Sesame-free and vegan. Plant-based cooking leans on tahini for creaminess. Set both and the creamy dressings come from somewhere else, and houmous is off the plate.
- Sesame and soy. In East Asian cooking the two big flavours are soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Set both and Grub builds the flavour without either.
What you'll actually cook
Grub writes from your fridge or your craving, so there is no fixed list, and sesame-free changes the finish more than the dish. Curries, roasts, pasta, pies and stews barely notice. Ask for falafel with a dip and the version you see doesn't put houmous or tahini on the plate; ask for a stir-fry and it isn't finished with sesame oil or seeds. If you serve it with shop-bought bread or a spice mix, check the label.
Set your kit too, so a sesame-free dinner from the air fryer is written for the air fryer.
Yes. Houmous and hummus are both on the sesame list, because both are made with tahini, which is sesame paste. Yes. Sesame oil, toasted sesame and sesame seeds all contain the word sesame, so they are caught. Both are caught. Za'atar, dukkah and furikake are on the sesame list because they usually contain sesame seeds, and so is baba ganoush, because it is usually made with tahini. A blend sold under another name, such as shichimi togarashi, is not, so check the label. Grublin states sesame as a critical constraint in every request and re-checks each recipe, but it is AI-generated, works on ingredient names rather than brands, and cannot see product labels. Always read every label yourself. For a serious allergy, do not rely on Grublin alone. Yes. Photograph your shelf or a dish you fancy and the recipe Grub writes follows the sesame rule like any other. See photo to recipe.Questions people ask
Does Grublin know houmous contains sesame?
Is sesame oil caught?
What about za'atar and dukkah?
Is Grublin safe for someone with a sesame allergy?
Does it work from a photo?
