The Canon

Sesame Brittle

Simsim barar

Also: Simsim, Sesame candy, Sesame snap, Til chikki

A thin, hard confection of toasted sesame seeds suspended in cooked sugar (or honey) syrup, set into snappable sheets or bars.

Identity criteria

  1. 1Toasted sesame seeds are the bulk of the candy, not a coating
  2. 2Sugar or honey syrup is cooked to the hard-crack stage so it sets brittle
  3. 3Set thin enough to snap rather than chew
  4. 4No flour, dairy, or leavening — just seeds and sugar
  5. 5Glossy, amber set surface

Components

Base

Toasted sesame seedsessential

Liquid

Water (to start the syrup)optional

Binder

Sugar or honey syrup cooked to hard-crackessential

Seasoning

Pinch of saltoptional

Technique

Sesame toasting
Toasting develops the nutty flavour and removes raw bitterness before the seeds are locked in syrup
Hard-crack sugar cooking
Cooking the syrup to ~150C is what makes it set brittle and snap instead of staying chewy
Thin setting
Spreading the hot mass thin while pliable produces the characteristic crisp snap

Form & serving

Served
Broken into shards or cut bars
Temperature
room temperature
Portion
small snack portion
Pairs with
Tea · Coffee · Dried fruit

Character

Flavour

sweetnuttytoasty

Texture

hard, crisp, snappable

Eaten

An everyday and festive street sweet eaten as a small high-energy snack, often with tea or coffee.

When

year-round

Variations & related

Regional variations

  • Simsim · Sudan / South Sudan

    Often made with raw sugar, eaten as an everyday street sweet

  • Pasteli · Greece

    Honey-bound version, an ancient sibling

  • Til chikki / gajak · South Asia

    Jaggery-bound winter sweet

Related dishes

  • sibling Pasteli

    Greek honey-and-sesame brittle of ancient origin

  • sibling Halva

    Both sesame-based sweets but halva is soft/crumbly, not hard-set

  • pairs-with Tea

    Common accompaniment

Substitutions

  • White sesame seeds → Black sesame seedsadmissible

    Changes colour and slightly deepens flavour but keeps identity

  • Sugar syrup → Honeyadmissible

    Traditional in several regions; alters flavour and lowers vegan status

  • Hard-crack syrup → Under-cooked soft syrupinadmissible

    Will stay sticky and chewy, not brittle — it is no longer brittle

Common mistakes

  • Under-cooking the syrup so the brittle stays sticky
  • Burning the sugar to bitterness while reaching hard-crack
  • Not toasting the seeds, leaving a flat raw flavour
  • Setting it too thick so it cannot snap

Provenance

A sesame-and-sugar brittle found across Northeast Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and South Asia; the simsim form is a staple sweet in Sudan and South Sudan.

Shared by: South Sudan, Sudan, East Africa

References

  1. 1.Northeast African and Middle Eastern confectionery tradition
  2. 2.Comparative sesame-sweet references

Confidence: high