Thursday, April 1, 2010

Tamarind Treat

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Have you ever heard of a Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L. ~ Leguminosae (Fabaceae) ~Common Names: Tamarind, Tamarindo, Tamarin, Sampalok) I had never heard of it before our trip to Florida. We stopped at a fruit stand and Dennis was excited to find some. He could remember enjoying it as a boy, a kind of treat in Honduras.

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I was hesitant to try it. As you can see it kind of looks like a bean. The outside is hard and rough. Once you break it open it's gooey inside. You can easily pull some off, it's very sticky! And each little mound you see is a seed.

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So you pop the sticky mess in your mouth and try to deal with your fingers. But take the seed out once you have the goodness off, lol. The taste reminded me of sour candy, like sourheads. Haden loved it, I could handle a small amount but not a whole "bean". I did keep some seeds and I would like to see if I could grow one of the plants. I'm sure I'll tell you all about it if I can.

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Life With Kaishon

26 comments:

  1. Never heard of it before. Interesting.

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  2. I've eaten it somewhere... but not in the bean. i think in candy or something

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  3. Very interesting....I have never heard of them either!

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  4. I never really liked Tamarind because of how it looks. Haha! I know how it tastes, though! Here in the Philippines, we call it Sampalok, can you try saying that? Haha!

    Have fun eating your Tamarind!

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  5. Lisa, many years ago I was a Peace Corps teacher at an "infant" school in the West Indies (St. Kitts). The older women in the village made tamarind jam and my students would buy a small amount smeared on a piece of paper bag (the women would set up their pot of jam on the street to sell). After the jam was eaten they loved to throw the seeds. Needless to say I dreaded tamarind season! I haven't eaten tamarind since coming back to the U.S.

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  6. My frist thought was an overly ripe banana....and then you said "POP" in your mouth and my brain read "POOP" in your mouth. LOL

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  7. Interesting, looks like strange sausages..... Never been able to try these, will be interesting to see if you can grow a plant

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  8. I've never seen one of those, let alone eaten one. They kind of look like a mummified banana.

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  9. Never seen or heard before !!!!!
    Interesting ....

    ;)

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  10. I have heard of Tamarind but never eaten one. The seed encased in sweet sticky goo makes me think of a persimmon.

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  11. Thanks for sharing. Have not tried, but am open.

    Happy Easter!

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  12. Well, what an interesting food to experience. It does look a little ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm, different : ) but I am glad that it tasted good! : )

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  13. The trees grow here in Paraguay too. I remember eating the pod´s when I was a child, but they are too sour for my taste. But the trees are THE best shade trees. I hope they grow for you.

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  14. I've never heard of these. I'm not sure if I could eat it, it looks kind of like a worm. Ick.

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  15. Yes, it does look a lot like a bean to me too. Although sour is not what I would have expected. Maybe it would work with teenagers though who are obsessed with sour patch kids and sour jelly bean and their sour personalities at times too. LOL

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  16. Hang on, what have I been missing? I've never tried these and have lived in Florida my whole life! I must find them and try them!!

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  17. so that's what you do with those...i often see it in recipes and wonder what it is.

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  18. I know that fruit, I know it very well. we have it along the way on street sides in our city. and we use it to cook many traditional recipes.
    try to eat it together with sugar, taste better :)

    we call it 'asam' just the same as how it taste, 'asam'. I hope the seed will grow, though you might take years before it bloom and give you some.

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  19. I had a lot of tamarind flavored stuff in Costa Rica - the juice was SO good, but never knew what it looked like. Cool photos! There's a small place down the street that we went to for the first time...they have killer margaritas and they have a tamarind one, crazy! i'm trying it next time! :)

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  20. I've never seen one before. I can't really say it looks yummie!

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  21. We use it in soups and curries, but I've never seen the actual bean... My mom used to buy the seeds, but now I can find the paste in bottles from the supermarket... but I cannot imagine eating it!

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  22. Hi Lisa,
    My neighbor has a tamarind tree. In Portuguese we say "tamarindo". Love to eat this fruit, it has a delicious acid taste.
    Great photos.

    Happy Easter!
    Feliz Páscoa!

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  23. I like lucas pelucas tamarind candy!
    I have a recipe for a tamarind margarita. :)
    Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Have you seen the tree? It's very huge!! Tamarind paste is a must in every household here in my country. We use it for cooking, cleaning silverware, even can cure fever! It's very useful!

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  25. Dried and powdered it's used as a spice. Very common in Indian food. I'm told it's also used in combination with other spices in a paste as a natural hair remover. Can't confirm or deny. Just sayin' what I've heard. I didn't know it was a pod/seed/goo thing though. Like pomegranate?

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