Tamarind
Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
The tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world. The pulp is also used in traditional medicine and as a dye. The wood can be used for woodworking, and tamarind seed oil can be extracted from the seeds. Its young leaves are used in Indian and Filipino cuisine. Because tamarind has multiple uses, it is cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical zones.
Description
The tamarind is a long-living, medium-growth tree, which attains a maximum crown height of. The crown has an irregular, vase-shaped outline of dense foliage up to wide. A tamarind trunk may grow to a circumference of. The tree grows well in full sun. It prefers clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soil types, with a high resistance to drought and wind-borne salt as found in coastal areas.The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and paripinnately compound. The leaflets are bright green, elliptic-ovular, pinnately veined, and less than in length. The branches droop from a single, central trunk as the tree matures, and are often pruned in agriculture to optimize tree density and ease of fruit harvest.
As a tropical species, it is frost-sensitive. The pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets give a billowing effect in the wind. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood.
The tamarind flowers bloom, with red and yellow elongated flowers. Flowers are 2.5 cm wide, five-petalled, borne in small racemes, and yellow with orange or red streaks. Buds are pink as the four sepals are pink and are lost when the flower blooms.
Fruit
The fruit is an indehiscent pod, in length, with a hard, brown shell.The fruit has a fleshy, acidic pulp, becoming mature when the flesh is colored brown or reddish brown. The tamarinds of Asia have longer pods, whereas African and West Indian varieties have shorter pods. The seeds are somewhat flattened, and a glossy brown. The fruit is sweet and sour in taste. A mature tree may produce up to of fruit each year.
Etymology
The name derives from, romanized tamr hindi, "Indian date". Several early medieval herbalists and physicians wrote tamar indi, medieval Latin use was tamarindus, and Marco Polo wrote of tamarandi.Common names
In countries of Southeast Asia, it is called asam jawa or simply asam, and sukaer in Timor. In the Philippines, it is called sampalok or sampaloc in Filipino, and sambag in Cebuano.Distribution
Tamarindus indica is indigenous to tropical Africa, but has been cultivated for so long on the Indian subcontinent that it is sometimes reported to be indigenous there. It grows wild in Africa. In Arabia, it is found growing wild in Oman, especially Dhofar, where it grows on the sea-facing slopes of mountains. It reached South Asia likely through human transportation and cultivation several thousand years ago. It is widely distributed throughout the tropics, from Africa to South Asia and Australia. In Madagascar, its fruit and leaves are a well-known favorite of the ring-tailed lemur, providing as much as 50 percent of their food resources during the year if available.In the 16th century, it was introduced to Mexico and Central America, and to a lesser degree to South America, by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, to the degree that it became a staple ingredient in the region's cuisine.
Uses
Most parts of the tamarind tree have various environmental, commercial, and culinary uses. Tamarind trees are used as shade trees and ornamental trees.Nutrition
Raw tamarind fruit is 63% carbohydrates, 31% water, 3% protein, and 1% fat. In a reference amount of, raw tamarind supplies of food energy, and is a rich source of thiamine and dietary minerals, including magnesium and potassium at 22% and 21% DV, respectively.Culinary
The fruit is harvested by pulling the pod from its stalk. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is used in savory dishes, as a pickling agent or as a means of making certain poisonous yams in Ghana safe for human consumption. As the fruit matures, it becomes sweeter and less sour. The sourness varies between cultivars and some sweet varieties have almost no acidity when ripe.Tamarind pulp is the most common part of the tamarind plant used in chutneys, curries, and sauces, such as Worcestershire sauce, HP Sauce, some brands of barbecue sauce, and the traditional sharbat syrup drink. Tamarind sweet chutney is common in India and Pakistan as a dressing for many snacks and often served with samosa.
Across the Middle East, from the Levant to Iran, tamarind is used in savory dishes, notably meat-based stews, and often combined with dried fruits to achieve a sweet-sour tang. During Ramadan, tamarind is used to prepare a traditional beverage known as "tamr-hindi," which is particularly popular in the Levant region. The drink is made by boiling tamarind paste in water, sweetening it with sugar, and then straining the mixture. In some variations, rosewater and lemon juice are added to enhance its flavor. Street vendors play a significant role in distributing this beverage, carrying large copper pots filled with the juice on their backs. They typically arrange numerous cups around their waist to conveniently serve the drink to passersby in the streets.
Tamarind has been integrated into kosher and Jewish cuisine across several diasporas, beginning with its introduction to the Middle East via Jewish merchants on the Silk Road in the 7th century. Syrian Jews prepare tamarind syrup, known as ou or ouc, by soaking, straining, and boiling the fruit pulp with sugar and lemon, using it in dishes such as yebra, bazargan, keftes, and laham b'ajeen. In India, Baghdadi, Cochin, and Bene Israel Jews use tamarind in regional recipes like bamia khutta, mahmoora, tamarind rice, and lamb with red chilies. Syrian Jewish communities in Mexico have adapted tamarind-based dishes with local ingredients, exemplified by chicken with tamarind, apricots, and chipotle. In contemporary Israel, tamarind juice has gained popularity beyond traditional communities, aided by commercial offerings like Prigat's seasonal releases during Ramadan.
In the Philippines, the whole fruit is used as one of the souring agents of the sour soup sinigang, as well as another type of soup called sinampalukan. The fruit pulp is cooked in sugar and salt to make champóy na sampalok, a traditional tamarind candy. Indonesia also has a similarly sour, tamarind-based soup dish called sayur asem.
In Sri Lanka, tamarind pulp has been used as a lime alternative, and in Senegal, the pulp is mixed with sugar to produce sweet meats known as 'bengal'. In India, tamarind pulp is made into a juice used in the preservation of fish, and in many countries of East Africa, the pulp is used in the making of a dish called ugali.
Tamarind seeds need to be soaked and boiled in water before they are edible. The seeds are commonly used in jellies, marmalades and jams because they contain pectin which gives them jelly-forming properties, and have been used as a stabilizer to make cheese, ice cream and mayonnaise. In Indonesia, after the seeds have been roasted, they are consumed as a snack accompanied with salt and grated coconut and in Thailand tamarind seeds are used as a coffee alternative.
The leaves and bark are also edible, and the seeds can be cooked to make safe for consumption. Blanched, tender tamarind leaves are used in a Burmese salad called magyi ywet thoke, a salad from Upper Myanmar that features tender blanched tamarind leaves, garlic, onions, roasted peanuts, and pounded dried shrimp. Tamarind seeds contain high levels of protein and oil and in some countries, tamarind seeds are used as an emergency food because of their high protein levels. The leaves of the tamarind plant are high in calcium and protein and have been consumed by domestic animals and wild animals, including elephants, as a fodder.
Seed oil and kernel powder
Tamarind seed oil is made from the kernel of tamarind seeds. The kernel is difficult to isolate from its thin but tough shell. It has a similar consistency to linseed oil, and can be used to make paint or varnish.Tamarind kernel powder is used as sizing material for textile and jute processing, and in the manufacture of industrial gums and adhesives.
Tamarind seeds are used in the production of tamarind kernel powder which is used as a sizing agent in the textile industry because of its ability to absorb water and swell up, in India, tamarind kernel powder has also been used as a sizing agent in the production of cotton. In Bengal, tamarind seeds are used in the production of an oil used in varnishes. leaves and flowers are used as a setting agent for dyes.
Folk medicine
In Southeast Asia, tamarind fruit is used as a poultice applied to the foreheads of people with fevers. The fruit exhibits laxative effects for relief of constipation. Extracts of steamed and sun-dried old tamarind pulp in Java are used to treat skin problems, like rashes and irritation; one traditional practice indicated tamarind could be ingested after dilution for use as an abortifacient.Different parts of the tamarind plant have been used globally for other purposes in folk medicine. In the northern parts of Nigeria, the roots of the tamarind plant are thought to be useful for treating leprosy, and in America, tamarind pulp is considered in folk medicine to be a laxative and used for alleviating sunstroke and sore throats. In Thailand, the pulp has been transformed into a tablet in the belief it can reduce excess weight, and in Brazil, the pulp is used for its supposed hydrating effects. Tamarind seeds have been used in powdered form to possibly aid dysentery in India and Cambodia, and in Ethiopia, softened tamarind seeds are used as a possible treatment for parasitic worms.