What Is Tamarind?

Tamarind is a tropical tree which bears brown seedpods and yellow flowers. The pod of this tree contains seeds that can be used as medicine as well as flavouring and food preservative. It is a native of Africa and parts of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. The trees have also been introduced in Latin America, the Caribbean and tropical Asia. The tree usually grows up to 20 m in height. Tamarind timber consists of soft yellowish sapwood and hard, dark red heartwood. The fruit pulp is used as a spice in Latin American and Asian cuisines. It is an important ingredient in HP sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Tamarind is used in Mexican candies and is a popular food in Mexico. Tamarind sauce goes well with lamb shanks however it is difficult to find.

Tamarind is a fruiting tree native to Africa and widely planted throughout the world, particularly in Latin America and Asia. The tamarind
fruit is used as a food crop and as a flavoring ingredient in a wide
range of foods, especially Latin American and Asian cuisine and
pre-packaged snacks. It is also sometimes known as Assam or pule.The tamarind
tree can grow in excess of 60 feet (20 meters) in most tropical
climates. Although best suited for tropical climes with a dry season,
it can also do well in high-rainfall tropical environments. It is
cultivated widely for its use as a food, requiring little fertilization
or upkeep to thrive.



The pulp of the fruit is the main portion of tamarind used in food production. When still slightly unripe, it has a very sharp, sour taste with a high level of acidity. Unripe tamarind is used in many candies and dishes throughout Asia and Latin America. The popularity of tamarind candies in the United States and Europe is considerably less, due to a general trend towards sugary-sweet candies.
When riper, tamarind becomes much
sweeter and may be used in preparing a number of different desserts or
sweet drinks. It is also used as a spice in curries, for which purpose
it is particularly popular in parts of India. Although not native to
India, tamarind was introduced from
Africa so long ago that many people consider it a native species, and
its staple place in the diet reflects this.
Although not terribly common in European and American cuisine, tamarind still sees some use. Worcestershire sauce is perhaps the most well-known product that uses tamarind, which plays an integral part in creating the sauce’s unique taste. There also seems to be an expanding market for tamarind in general cooking, with packets of tamarind sauce becoming more readily available in mainstream grocery stores in the United States.

In addition to the use of the pulp as a food crop, other parts of the tamarind
tree are used for medicinal purposes throughout the world. The bark and
leaves, for example, may be made into teas with a wide range of uses,
most notably as an herbal treatment for malaria-induced fever.