Производството на сусам и сусамено масло в Хасковско
The Production of Sesam and Sesame Oil in Haskovo District

Summary/Abstract: The production of sesame and sesame oil is typical of Haskovo and its district. The cultivation and processing of sesame was conditioned here by the early development (beginning of the 19th century) of food-oil production as a means of livelihood. This development was due to the cultivation of sesame, and to the lack of mills for the production of nut and poppy oil, and to the fact that the population needed oil for home use. Up to the First World war, food-oil production provided a livelihood for dozen of families in Haskovo. Produced in a primitive way the output of this oil could not pretend to any good quality, and served chiefly local needs. Little capital was invested in these workshops and most of them worked for local sesame growers on the toll system. A change set in the development of this trade in the twenties of the 20th century. Until then it had only processed sesame seeds. Changed economic conditions let to the development of the production of food-oil chiefly from sunflower seed. The introduction of sunflower as an oil-bearing plant in agriculture and the larger yields obtained from it, forced a large part of the sesame processors to reorganize their workshops. This trade has almost come to an end, as a result of the socioeconomic changes which set in Bulgaria after the socialist revolution. Today only one workshop in Armani and one in Lyubimets are still at work for the production of ground baked sesame seed oil.

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