Tamarind
Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species.
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 metal polish. The tree's wood can be used for woodworking and tamarind seed oil can be extracted from the seeds. Tamarind's tender young leaves are used in Indian cuisine. Because tamarind has multiple uses, it is cultivated around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.
Etymology
The name derives from تمر هندي, romanized tamar hindi, "Indian date". Several early medieval herbalists and physicians wrote tamar indi, medieval Latin use was tamarindus, and Marco Polo wrote of tamarandi.In Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Italy, Spain, and throughout the Lusosphere, it is called tamarindo. In those countries it is often used to make the beverage of the same name. In East Timor it is also called sukaer. In the Caribbean, tamarind is sometimes called tamón. In the Philippines, it is called sampalok or sampaloc in Filipino, and sambag in Cebuano. Tamarind is sometimes confused with "Manila tamarind". While in the same taxonomic family Fabaceae, Manila tamarind is a different plant native to Mexico and known locally as guamúchili.
Origin
Tamarindus indica is probably 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 locales as diverse as Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Somalia and Tanzania. 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, northern Australia, and throughout Oceania, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and China.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.
Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind. The consumption of tamarind is widespread due to its central role in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, especially Mexico.
Description
The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth tree, which attains a maximum crown height of. The crown has an irregular, vase-shaped outline of dense foliage. The tree grows well in full sun. It prefers clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soil types, with a high resistance to drought and aerosol salt.The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and pinnately lobed. 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. At night, the leaflets close up.
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, 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 legume, sometimes called a pod, in length, with a hard, brown shell.The fruit has a fleshy, juicy, acidic pulp. It is mature when the flesh is coloured 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 best described as sweet and sour in taste, and is high in tartaric acid, sugar, B vitamins, and, unusually for a fruit, calcium.
The fruit is harvested by pulling the pod from its stalk. A mature tree may be capable of producing up to of fruit per year. Veneer grafting, shield budding, and air layering may be used to propagate desirable cultivars. Such trees will usually fruit within three to four years if provided optimum growing conditions.
Culinary use
The fruit pulp is edible. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is considered by many to be too sour, but is often used as a component of 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 and the ripened fruit is considered more palatable. The sourness varies between cultivars and some sweet tamarind ones have almost no acidity when ripe. In Western cuisine, tamarind pulp is found in Worcestershire Sauce and HP Sauce.Tamarind paste has many culinary uses including a flavoring for chutnies, curries, and the traditional sharbat syrup drink. Tamarind sweet chutney is popular in India and Pakistan as a dressing for many snacks. Tamarind pulp is a key ingredient in flavoring curries and rice in south Indian cuisine, in the Chigali lollipop, and in certain varieties of Masala Chai tea. 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. In the Philippines, the whole fruit is used as an ingredient in the traditional dish called sinigang to add a unique sour taste, unlike that of dishes that use vinegar instead. Indonesia also has a similarly sour, tamarind-based soup dish called sayur asem.
In Mexico and the Caribbean, the pulp is diluted with water and sugared to make an agua fresca drink.
Tamarind seed oil
Tamarind seed oil is the oil made from the kernel of tamarind seeds. Isolation of the kernel without the thin but tough shell is difficult. Tamarind kernel powder is used as sizing material for textile and jute processing, and in the manufacture of industrial gums and adhesives. It is de-oiled to stabilize its colour and odor on storage.Composition of tamarind seed kernel
| Composition | Original | De-oiled |
| Oil | 7.6% | 0.6% |
| Protein | 7.6% | 19.0% |
| Polysaccharide | 51.0% | 55.0% |
| Crude fiber | 1.2% | 1.1% |
| Total ash | 3.9% | 3.4% |
| Acid insoluble ash | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Moisture | 7.1% |
The fatty acid composition of the oil is linoleic 46.5%, oleic 27.2%,
and saturated fatty acids 26.4%. The oil is usually bleached after refining.
Fatty acid composition of tamarind kernel oil
| Fatty acid | Range reported |
| Lauric acid | tr-0.3 |
| Myristic acid | tr-0.4 |
| Palmitic acid | 8.7–14.8 |
| Stearic acid | 4.4–6.6 |
| Arachidic acid | 3.7–12.2 |
| Lignoceric acid | 4.0–22.3 |
| Oleic acid | 19.6–27.0 |
| Linoleic acid | 7.5–55.4 |
| Linolenic acid | 2.8–5.6 |
Cultivation
Seeds can be scarified or briefly boiled to enhance germination. They retain their germination capability for several months if kept dry.The tamarind has long been naturalized in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands. Thailand has the largest plantations of the ASEAN nations, followed by Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. In parts of Southeast Asia, tamarind is called asam. It is cultivated all over India, especially in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Extensive tamarind orchards in India produce 275,500 tons annually.
In the United States, it is a large-scale crop introduced for commercial use, mainly in southern states, notably south Florida, and as a shade tree, along roadsides, in dooryards and in parks.
A traditional food plant in Africa, tamarind has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. 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.