Ever tried it? Be aware, lots of people don’t like it, but if you do, you LOOOOOVE it. It’s just that - tamarind, sugar, and salt, so it’s simultaneously sweet and savory. And I am one of those who love it! Just got some from the Indian store and I’m thinking I should have gotten two packs.
Yum!
Thanks for reminding me - I love it too but haven’t had it for years. Time to look up who carries it in the area. Good stuff. I’m not big on things that are just sweet - I prefer to mix it up with a little salt or savoury.
I love the stuff! I don’t get it often enough, but an asian grocery store a mere 50 miles away from me carries it. Lemony, with a sort of raisin sweetness but not cloying like raisins can be, with that dash of salt making it a trigger for most of my major taste buds!!
I had some tamarind soda once. THAT was yummy!
I’ve seen tamarind soda at a bunch of the stores around here (Piggly Wiggly on Howell, El Rey etc) and if you can’t find the candy at an El Rey, you might check Pacific Produce on 27th. I haven’t been in there yet, but it sounds like something they might have.
BTW, I might be indirectly bumping into you on Thursday. I believe my place of business is catering to your place of business. I thought about writing “Cecil” or “SDMB” on one of the items but it seemed a bit unprofessional and I didn’t need my driver asking a bunch of questions and then trying to explain it.
I processed my own tamarind paste for pad thai. I wonder if I could make the candy too.
I would totally be willing to send you some, if you want. If you are interested, PM me.
ETA: They have regular and hot; the “hot” has chili powder in it.
I’ve had Tamarind jam in the Caribbean. It was very good, but full of seeds.
An old Dutch/Indonesian coworker introduced me to it and I love it. Except for when I hit a pit and nearly break a tooth. It was really cool one day to learn that the weird trees I see in my town are Tamarind trees. I wonder if I could just pull off one of the giant pods and eat the contents or if it’s toxic/unpalatable without processing.
Tamarinds are edible straight from the tree, unless there are different types of tamarinds I don’t know about. You have to be a bit careful because the fruit contains pits, and there are sort of fibers tying the whole thing together. You have to bite down on one segment, slide it off the fibers like meat off a skewer, then suck and scrape the pulp off the pit.
I’ve never actually had Tamarind candy, but I’ve had Tamarinds straight off the tree. I used to strip the fibrous bits out and then just suck on the pit to get all the fruity goodness off it.
It’s here in Thailand. Good stuff.