March 3, 2021 • 27 mins
This tropical fruit lends a bright punch of flavor to both sweet and savory dishes in cuisines around the world. Anney and Lauren dig into the science and history of tamarind.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of iHeart Radio. I'm
Any and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. And today we're talking about
tamarind yes, which a few of you have written in
to suggest recently. And I literally did not know what
it is. Yeah. I thought it was a spice. It
(00:31):
can be used as a spice, I guess technically. Yeah. Yeah.
When I saw pictures of it, I was like, oh, no,
that's not what I was thinking at all. I'm certain
that I've had it um and especially when I was
in India, but I can't tell you more than that.
I know it's in pad Tie often, so you can
see that episode that we've done, um and Whish just
(00:54):
your Sauce, which we also have done. Yeah, that's about
on it. Oh. I love I love tamaron. I don't
think that I was aware of it until I don't know,
maybe like a decade or so ago, and I realized
that it is one of the flavors that I really
love in pad Tie. And then I started seeing like
(01:15):
Tamarin candies and um in local markets. Um, there's a
like a like a Caribbean style or possibly Central American
style at any rate. Yeah, that that that type of area. Yeah,
makes a little like like tamarin paste candies with um
like chili powder, and they're rolled in they'll be like
(01:37):
rolled in granulated sugar and sometimes like a little bit
of salt in there too, and they're oh, they're so
good and I want like one of them. And then
after that I'm like, Okay, that was a lot delicious.
They're powerful and they're so good. Um. Yeah, And I
like doing the reading for this made me realize, like,
(01:57):
why don't I have a jar of tamarin pay in
my fridge because I feel like I would put it
in everything the way that I put like and everything.
And so, yes, this is a this is a new project,
going to make it happen. I also swear I'm going
to cook something that is not like macaroni and cheese
one of these days. But yeah, I'm down to my ram. No. No,
(02:25):
it's never good. When are you going to go to
the grocery store? When is your trip plan? Danny? I
was supposed to go today, but I think, oh no, okay, alright,
well as long as you promise that you're going to
go tomorrow, yes, yes, I have enough for today tomorrow,
all right, let's venture out. I want tamarin soda. I
(02:49):
don't know why. I don't really drink, but for some
reason I got it in my head. That is something
that I need. Um. Also, this is another word that
I just really enjoy, Tamarin Cameron. Yeah, it's nice. Yeah,
I will say before we get to our question. This
one was a tricky like I had to do a
lot of creative googling to get not a lot of inforation.
(03:16):
So if there's any tamarind experts out there, we need you,
world needs your expertise. Yeah, I'll always get in touch.
Oh my goodness, listeners, if you are ever an expert
in something that we happened to do an episode on,
like get in touch. We want to hear from you.
If you're like, well, dang, I wrote a whole book
(03:36):
about that, Like we need to talk to you immediately.
Waste no time. Yes, yes, so badly. We do want
to hear from you. But okay, I guess we should
get to our question. Yeah, tamarind, what is it? Well,
(03:56):
tamarind is a type of fruit that grows on tree
these as a sweet and sour tropical bean paste. Yeah
it does. I know, I know, it's strange. Um. Uh.
The trees botanical name tamarindous indica are these big, broad,
evergreen trees with these huge sprays of tiny little leaves
(04:17):
that look kind of like feathery or like fern like,
kind of like a cartoon feather. The trees can reach
like eighty to a hundred feet in height. Um, that's
about with trunks like six ft thick about two ms thick,
big old trees. Yeah, they are in the lagume family
(04:38):
UM fabasia. And uh, the trees will put off just
loads of these tiny little pink or yellow flowers that
when pollinated, develop into these long, broad, kind of like
flat and bulbous brown pods about two to seven inches
long that's about five to eighteen centimeters. And um, those
will contain this this juice see green pulp surrounding small seeds,
(05:03):
and as the pulp matures, UM, it will reach like
a like a reddish or a brown color. And then
the pods will dry on the tree, with that outer
skin becoming a brittle shell and the pulp inside becoming
a sticky paste. Um. There's sometimes left for like half
a year on the tree after the fruit matures, so
that they dry down to like moisture content, and that
(05:25):
pulp will be sweet and sour and bright and like
a little bit um earthy and sort of heavy, almost
like a like a sour molasses. Yeah. Yeah um. And
it does lend itself to both sweet and savory preparations. Um.
It's made into yes, candies and chattanese and jams. It's
used in sauces and curries and marinades, made into syrups,
(05:48):
used as a flavor in right sodas um and other drinks,
or in frozen desserts. It can be used to make wine. Um.
I saw so many cocktail recipes as I was doing
my reading, like like it's a margarita but put some
tamaran in it, or like it's a whiskey sour but
puts some tamaran in it. And I was like, I
need to drink all of these immediately. Why am I not?
(06:10):
Why am I not drinking all of these? I know.
I ran into those two and I was like, I mean,
there's nothing like just diving right into an ingredient. You
literally didn't know what it was. Let's just make everything.
Let's just try everything and make everything. Yes, um, yeah
it is. It is a primary ingredient in UH in
(06:33):
the sauce for pad tie. It is in UH Worcestershire
sauce and UM HP sauce as well, common condiment for
UM for some types of chopped like Indian street foods. Yeah,
I've read about tamarin lemonade and algua fresca as being
sources of like serious nostalgia for people from Palestine to
Mexico and beyond. There is a sweeter variety grown mostly
(06:56):
in Thailand and eaten mostly locally there, And I will
say be careful with it in Marinades because it does
have a high acid content, which means you know, it's
great for like tough red meats and stuff like that,
but it can chemically cook more delicate proteins like seafood,
which if that's what you're going for for like a
ceviche or something like that, then great. But if it's unexpected,
(07:17):
then yeah, bad times, bad times. Yeah. You can find
whole dried tamarind pods in some markets in the United States.
I've seen them in h Mart. I think UM and
sometimes UH compressed blocks of the pulp and seeds UM,
but it's usually a little bit easier over here. To find.
Tamarin paste often sold in jars or in blocks, either
(07:39):
shelf stable or frozen. It's also processed into a powder
to use for seasoning, but in some places where they
grow um, the immature green pods are used in cooking
UM as a sour seasoning or the mature but not
dry yet pods might be roasted and the and the
pulp beaten that way. The leaves and flowers are also
edible and sometimes added to salads or soups or stews.
(08:01):
The trees are a popular ornamental or shade tree in
the tropics, and the wood is used as well. UM.
The older wood from the heart of the tree is
this like lovely, uh, purplish brown and pretty strong, so
it's apparently really prized and like furniture making and stuff
like that. Um and the seeds are edible too. They
can be roasted and ground and used as a sort
of flower or as a coffee substitute, or can be
(08:24):
processed into a type of pectin um for use in
jellification or as a stabilizer in foods and other industries.
The bark and flowers and fruits and leaves are also
sometimes used in dying. It is a. It is a
very very dying like coloration, not like right death, sure
that I'm aware of. Well, we are going to talk
(08:46):
about graves later. Excellent where it goes goth. I've been
waiting the whole time, the whole time. I know, you know,
a very very useful tree overall. Um and yeah, I
found so much not about food. I know that the
tree seems very prized and very loved where it grows. Um.
(09:10):
And I have to say this whole thing hearing your
description of it. I it's one of those episodes are like,
this is weird, This is weird that this grows on
a tree. Does Yeah? I yeah, I was. As I
was reading, I was just like plants, y'all, what are
they doing? Lots of stuff, they get up to stuff.
They do get up to stuff. Well, what about the nutrition?
(09:35):
You know, Thailand is kind of sugary, but does have
lots of fiber and a good bit of protein. Um.
It is in the lagoon family. Um. Also a good
spread of minerals. It will help fill you up and
keep you going. Um, you know, parent with a little
bit of fat, maybe maybe a vegetable, you know, always
always eat vegetable and Tamarin has been used in traditional
medicines where it's grown for basically ever, research is being
(09:58):
done now and how it might be adapted into medicine
going forward. UM. The planted, especially the fruit to do,
contain compounds that have anti microbial, antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and
laxative effects, so it totally makes sense that it's been
used to help heal wounds and relieve some pain, topically
to help relieve constipation and other stomach upset. Further research
(10:20):
is being done into extracts and how they might help
treat cancer, cure bacterial infections, all kinds of things. As always,
bodies are complicated. More research needs to be done before
in taking a medicinal dose of anything, you should probably
check with a medical professional. And that is not us. Nope,
(10:42):
not at not even close, even close. We do have
some numbers for you. India is the world's largest producer
of tamarins. Yeah, they produce over two tons a year. Uh.
Thailand comes in second with a hundred and forty thousand
(11:04):
tons a year. It's also grown in Central America and
the tropics of South America, plus the Caribbean, Southeast Asia,
and the South Pacific. UM. Yeah, a lot of the
numbers that I was looking for we're well a hidden
behind pay walls. But be UM really separated out into
these different market segments for UM for tamarind kernel powder
(11:28):
made from the seeds, for industrial uses UM and uh
tamarind extracts used as flavorings. So uh, for whatever that's worth.
That's that's the information that I have for you. That's it.
There you go. Uh. And I also we're doing the
research for this. I did run into a lot of
(11:48):
accounts that I am always tickled by because my mom
is somebody who actually she really loves big trees. Okay, yeah,
so I was just reading about, you know, how big
they can get, but also how old they can get,
and like there are stories about some of these trees
being hundreds of years old. So sure to tell my mom.
(12:10):
Oh yeah, timor and tree fact. Like when we were
in Tofino, Canada, we all got to choose an activity
in hers was I want to go to this place
as these big trees. Heck, yeah, no, I'm my trees
are pretty I'm I'm into that. Yeah. It was awesome too.
It was like it felt like something out of a
fantasy novel because it was the bridges, were you know,
(12:31):
all rickety and oh cool? Yeah, yeah, anyway, Um, we
do have some history for you. We do, but first
we've got a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
(12:52):
and we're back. Thank you sponsors, Yes, thank you, and yes,
as we said at the top of his Lauren and
I were just discussing, Uh, there was a difficulty getting
to the history of this one, and we suspect it
has to do with being on America Google. Yeah, yeah,
it's it's I I was. I was cursing the fact
(13:13):
that that like I just haven't learned every language on
the planet, and that I, therefore have, you know, a
certain lack of access to a lot of worlds knowledge. Yes, yes,
so if any listeners, Again, you don't have to be
an expert, but even just someone kind of like us.
We were very passionate. I don't know what I would say,
(13:35):
expert expert, a nerd food awkward. There's like one very
specific point there is there is, Yeah, that that ven
diagram has a yeah. Yes, yes, so any and all
Tamarin facts stories information welcome. Yes, yes, but here's what
we have. Yes, so terror and most likely originated in Africa,
(13:59):
although Some sources suggest that it's actually from India, but
most historians think it was introduced and adopted in India
so early on in that country that often gets misreported
as being from there, especially like in early days when
you know you might have a connection by you, I
mean people's are cultured you, but my advoc connection to
(14:21):
India are not Africa or vice versa. So it was
mentioned in Indian scriptures between sometime between twelve two D,
which yes is a wide range. UM and charcoal would
analysis indicates that the tree was in India by b C.
However I can only find that one place, but that's
around the same time. Whatever the case, the tree definitely
(14:45):
appeared in India early and recorded history, and it was
introduced to Persian and Arab people's possibly around sixth century CE,
from India, and they called it the Indian date to
mar Hindi. Yeah, yeah, that that naming might contribute to
some of that confusion about where it's from, but absolutely
(15:06):
different episode. But Chutney and Andia goes back to fifth
century BC, and Tamarind almost certainly went into some of
those early Chutney's I would imagine early Marinades as well,
going back to the fourth century BC. The ancient Greeks
and Egyptians were familiar with tamarind. Yeah, it was being
(15:26):
cultivated in Egypt by that time. By the first millennium
b c. E at tamarind was in Asia. Okay, I
love this, and I had a trouble verifying it, but
I wanted to share it. Apparently Alexander the Great and
his cohorts were really interested in behaviors of the tamarind flower,
that it closed at sunset and opened during sunrise. Yes,
(15:52):
so one of Alexander's generals recorded witnessing this while and
he was in what is now Bahrain in fourth century BC.
And Lauren. The reason one of the reasons I wanted
to talk about this is because as we were discussing
recently via text, we were discussing the trope and fan
fiction of like modern au settings where there is a
(16:14):
coffee shop, it's setting a coffee shop or bakery or
flower And I'm reading a Star Wars one right now
that I love that is in a flower shop and
it has a flower that does this. There are a
number of flowers that do that. Um, yes, but but
that's that's really that's right for for anyone who's completely
(16:35):
unfamiliar with the world of online fan fiction. Yes, that
that is a that is a common trope, that a
that a fan fiction will be set in a alternate
universe where the superheroes or whatever art. Yeah, run a
flower shop. I still, I'm still so fascinated by how
that just became a thing, just a whole thing. Yeah.
(16:58):
I think it has to do with Victorian our language
being really fun. But anyway, darn it. Now, I want
to know all about that. Different podcasts. Rain yourself in.
If anyone has any fan fiction questions, we can help you.
We can help you. Oh heck yeah, okay, alright, alright,
(17:19):
alternate podcast when we when we finally run out of
foods to talk about. Oh my gosh, that is our
fan fiction. Au whoa, I brew my own mind loan? Yes, okay,
all right, but back to Arran before I get too
distracted thinking about that. Um. As you said, Laurence. Throughout history,
(17:42):
tamarin has been used medicinely for all kinds of things,
from laria, fever, constipation, diarrha, stomach pain, inflammation, gnera I issues,
and for healing moods and a bunch of other stuff.
I believe also an aphrodisiac. Yeah, that's what the suggested
search is on Google tells me I didn't go down
(18:03):
that path, but I did read. Oh gosh. Now I
don't know what the source was and why I didn't
include it specifically, so this this might be suspect information.
But I did read that it was used specifically, um
to enhance women's sexual pleasure. Oh interesting. UM. Tamarind was
also used by travelers on long journeys to prevent scurvy.
(18:26):
Accounts from the seventeen seventies and seventeen nineties show that
Europeans eight tamarind and used it medicinely. Um. Possibly the
branches were also used for cleaning teeth and switches. I
don't know. I don't know. I'm not sure about that,
but I saw in a couple of places. Um. This
shade of the trees was reported as a popular meeting
(18:48):
space in Africa and the Virgin Islands as early as
the fifteen hundreds. Tamarind was introduced to Mexico, the Caribbean,
and Central America, where it was incorporated into drinks and
into candies, among other things. In some cultures, older trees
and tree grows we viewed as spiritual and possibly as
the dwelling of gods or spirits. And because of this
(19:10):
um there has been at least I found at least
one paper serving grave sites around tammer and trees, so
even if there wasn't a visible grave site, they were
they often found bones mhm um. One of the first
(19:31):
recorded instances of tamarind in Hawaii dates back to seven
though based on the fact that record show tamer and
trees appeared in a bunch of surrounding areas much earlier,
like the Tropical Americas and Bahamas, it very well may
have been introduced to Hawaii before then from the work.
And I'm laughing because I really debated on whether I
should say the whole title, but I suppose I will
(19:54):
when I when I when I first was flipping through
this outline, I assumed that that was a mistake and
I was ready to like to liken italicize a lot
of words, but then I was like, no, this is
great that I see exactly why she included this. Please continue. Yes,
it is called medicinal plants, being descriptions with original figures
(20:17):
of the principal plants employed in medicine, and an Account
of the character's properties and uses of their parts and
products of medicinal Value by Robert Bentley and Harry Truman.
And yes, I thought that was a mistake too. I
was like, surely, here's quote from the subtitles love it.
Tamarins have slightly laxative properties and are also refrigerant from
(20:39):
the acids they contain, and the fusion of tamarin pulp
forms a very grateful and useful drink in febrile affections. Grateful,
grateful drink. Yeah, okay, sure language language. Soon after Worcester
sauce was invented in the eighteen hundreds, tamarind was added.
(21:03):
When the nineteen hundreds rolled around. Tamarind had been naturalized
in almost all tropical areas and adopted into the cuisines
of those areas. The wood of tamarind of the Tamaran
tree was used in wood gas units in India up
until World War Two and recently. Aisha Say's book Beneath
the Tamarin Tree, a story of courage, family and the
(21:25):
Lost Schoolgirls of Boco Haram, came out in twenty nineteen.
And as we said at the top, it seems like
this tree is well loved where it grows, and a
lot a lot of my search results were UM for
books are documentaries or other pieces of entertainment. So yeah,
(21:48):
I find that really really interesting and I do I
want to see the tree. Yeah, let's go. Ah, I
do have a VR set. I think that is the
thing you can do. Oh cool. So yeah, maybe maybe
not the same, but until this iss over, Yeah yeah,
(22:14):
added to our list are very very long fielding go
somewhere with the tamarind tree. Yes, we have a lot
of options to be fair, so we do, we do
um and thanks to all the listeners who suggested this one.
It was very fun for me to go in completely
(22:34):
not knowing what it is and then for it to
be kind of strange at least didn't know how it grows.
I was like yeah, yeah, and especially coming off of
Annie's first suggestion or on the list of suggestions Annie
sent to me for this one, UM was passion fruit
and I was like, oh, passion fruit, totally passion fruit.
(22:55):
Why haven't we done passion fruit yet? And then about
five minutes later she messaged me back and was like, dude,
We've totally done passionate. So so going from something that
we have forgotten that we've already done a whole episode
about to something that you didn't know what it was. Yes, yes, yes,
that episode is called Lily Coy it was probably series um.
(23:20):
And also the listener who wrote in and suggested that
lindsay that episode does exist. We both forgot about it though,
so we don't. Yeah, no shape. But also your other
suggestion may or may not be coming up soon. So
and speaking of we do have some listener mail for you.
We do, but first we've got one more quick break
(23:41):
for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank
you sponsor, Yes, thank you, And we're back with listen
freeze in a tree outside and so long. Um. Melissa wrote, uh,
(24:12):
this is by far my favorite way to enjoy chicken
nuggets Frankenstein into a meal that bears passing resemblance to
a poutine. Yes. McDonald's most impressive quality for me has
always been their ability to adapt their staples to local context,
and I highly recommend this for anyone who comes across
McDonald's in Quebec. I say this as a person who
has tried to limit meat consumption as much as possible
(24:34):
because of the ethical environmental issues around factory farming chicken
McNuggets are pretty horrifying to me from that point of view,
but I still find myself grabbing one of these about
once in summer. Problematic food faith maybe, and Melissa sent
a picture this is an actual menu item. Ah, yes,
and I agree, Melissa, this is I've said I don't
(24:56):
need it McDonald's. But every time I go to a
new country, I like to go into one and look
the menu and be like, Wow, look what you got
at this one. Oh yeah, yeah, I I do. I do.
I do love that being in a different place and
being like, what's on that? What I feel like. I
think this is, you know, easy to say when you
(25:17):
grow up with something, But I feel like most McDonald's
internation McDonald's have better food options than we do. Yeah. No,
I think that that You are not the only person
to hold that opinion. Okay, it seems like that is
what everybody says. Sean wrote, I am impressed that you
made it through the entire Whipped Cream episode without a
single Stewie Griffin a family guy whip sound. I was
(25:41):
raised in Avon, New York. It's the only place in
the world that cool whip is made. My backyard growing
up was bound by railroad tracks used to bring in
corn syrup. I was able to tour the factory a
few times. The Canadian versions of cool Whip are noticeably sweeter.
Perhaps the most interesting thing from the main facturing process
is that they use Sherwin Williams industrial paint mixers to
(26:04):
do the whipping. You are probably underestimating the size as
you imagine it. Okay, one another field trip. Yes, I
want to see this too. I think that it is
very telling of my personality that the reference I made
in that episode was not Yes, the very well known
(26:26):
and recognizable family guy. It was the Star Wars holiday special.
I've had to sit with that and decide how I
feel about it. But I'm okay with it. That's well,
I'm I'm glad. I'm glad you're okay with it, because
that is like the most any Reese thing that I
probably the reference I should have made. Oh well, but
(26:53):
thank you, thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Important important culture note. Yes, we always love those work
and culture notes, and clearly we have areas that we
I'm saying we, but it's really me too much knowledge
on for apps and not spread knowledge so yes, we
do appreciate it. Thanks to both of those listeners for
(27:15):
writing in. If you would like to write to us,
you can our emails hello at savor pod dot com.
We're also on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at saver pod, and we do hope to
hear from you. Savor is production of I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts on my heart Radio, you can visit
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listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
(27:36):
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
are coming your way
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of iHeart Radio. I'm
Any and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. And today we're talking about
tamarind yes, which a few of you have written in
to suggest recently. And I literally did not know what
it is. Yeah. I thought it was a spice. It
(00:31):
can be used as a spice, I guess technically. Yeah. Yeah.
When I saw pictures of it, I was like, oh, no,
that's not what I was thinking at all. I'm certain
that I've had it um and especially when I was
in India, but I can't tell you more than that.
I know it's in pad Tie often, so you can
see that episode that we've done, um and Whish just
(00:54):
your Sauce, which we also have done. Yeah, that's about
on it. Oh. I love I love tamaron. I don't
think that I was aware of it until I don't know,
maybe like a decade or so ago, and I realized
that it is one of the flavors that I really
love in pad Tie. And then I started seeing like
(01:15):
Tamarin candies and um in local markets. Um, there's a
like a like a Caribbean style or possibly Central American
style at any rate. Yeah, that that that type of area. Yeah,
makes a little like like tamarin paste candies with um
like chili powder, and they're rolled in they'll be like
(01:37):
rolled in granulated sugar and sometimes like a little bit
of salt in there too, and they're oh, they're so
good and I want like one of them. And then
after that I'm like, Okay, that was a lot delicious.
They're powerful and they're so good. Um. Yeah, And I
like doing the reading for this made me realize, like,
(01:57):
why don't I have a jar of tamarin pay in
my fridge because I feel like I would put it
in everything the way that I put like and everything.
And so, yes, this is a this is a new project,
going to make it happen. I also swear I'm going
to cook something that is not like macaroni and cheese
one of these days. But yeah, I'm down to my ram. No. No,
(02:25):
it's never good. When are you going to go to
the grocery store? When is your trip plan? Danny? I
was supposed to go today, but I think, oh no, okay, alright,
well as long as you promise that you're going to
go tomorrow, yes, yes, I have enough for today tomorrow,
all right, let's venture out. I want tamarin soda. I
(02:49):
don't know why. I don't really drink, but for some
reason I got it in my head. That is something
that I need. Um. Also, this is another word that
I just really enjoy, Tamarin Cameron. Yeah, it's nice. Yeah,
I will say before we get to our question. This
one was a tricky like I had to do a
lot of creative googling to get not a lot of inforation.
(03:16):
So if there's any tamarind experts out there, we need you,
world needs your expertise. Yeah, I'll always get in touch.
Oh my goodness, listeners, if you are ever an expert
in something that we happened to do an episode on,
like get in touch. We want to hear from you.
If you're like, well, dang, I wrote a whole book
(03:36):
about that, Like we need to talk to you immediately.
Waste no time. Yes, yes, so badly. We do want
to hear from you. But okay, I guess we should
get to our question. Yeah, tamarind, what is it? Well,
(03:56):
tamarind is a type of fruit that grows on tree
these as a sweet and sour tropical bean paste. Yeah
it does. I know, I know, it's strange. Um. Uh.
The trees botanical name tamarindous indica are these big, broad,
evergreen trees with these huge sprays of tiny little leaves
(04:17):
that look kind of like feathery or like fern like,
kind of like a cartoon feather. The trees can reach
like eighty to a hundred feet in height. Um, that's
about with trunks like six ft thick about two ms thick,
big old trees. Yeah, they are in the lagume family
(04:38):
UM fabasia. And uh, the trees will put off just
loads of these tiny little pink or yellow flowers that
when pollinated, develop into these long, broad, kind of like
flat and bulbous brown pods about two to seven inches
long that's about five to eighteen centimeters. And um, those
will contain this this juice see green pulp surrounding small seeds,
(05:03):
and as the pulp matures, UM, it will reach like
a like a reddish or a brown color. And then
the pods will dry on the tree, with that outer
skin becoming a brittle shell and the pulp inside becoming
a sticky paste. Um. There's sometimes left for like half
a year on the tree after the fruit matures, so
that they dry down to like moisture content, and that
(05:25):
pulp will be sweet and sour and bright and like
a little bit um earthy and sort of heavy, almost
like a like a sour molasses. Yeah. Yeah um. And
it does lend itself to both sweet and savory preparations. Um.
It's made into yes, candies and chattanese and jams. It's
used in sauces and curries and marinades, made into syrups,
(05:48):
used as a flavor in right sodas um and other drinks,
or in frozen desserts. It can be used to make wine. Um.
I saw so many cocktail recipes as I was doing
my reading, like like it's a margarita but put some
tamaran in it, or like it's a whiskey sour but
puts some tamaran in it. And I was like, I
need to drink all of these immediately. Why am I not?
(06:10):
Why am I not drinking all of these? I know.
I ran into those two and I was like, I mean,
there's nothing like just diving right into an ingredient. You
literally didn't know what it was. Let's just make everything.
Let's just try everything and make everything. Yes, um, yeah
it is. It is a primary ingredient in UH in
(06:33):
the sauce for pad tie. It is in UH Worcestershire
sauce and UM HP sauce as well, common condiment for
UM for some types of chopped like Indian street foods. Yeah,
I've read about tamarin lemonade and algua fresca as being
sources of like serious nostalgia for people from Palestine to
Mexico and beyond. There is a sweeter variety grown mostly
(06:56):
in Thailand and eaten mostly locally there, And I will
say be careful with it in Marinades because it does
have a high acid content, which means you know, it's
great for like tough red meats and stuff like that,
but it can chemically cook more delicate proteins like seafood,
which if that's what you're going for for like a
ceviche or something like that, then great. But if it's unexpected,
(07:17):
then yeah, bad times, bad times. Yeah. You can find
whole dried tamarind pods in some markets in the United States.
I've seen them in h Mart. I think UM and
sometimes UH compressed blocks of the pulp and seeds UM,
but it's usually a little bit easier over here. To find.
Tamarin paste often sold in jars or in blocks, either
(07:39):
shelf stable or frozen. It's also processed into a powder
to use for seasoning, but in some places where they
grow um, the immature green pods are used in cooking
UM as a sour seasoning or the mature but not
dry yet pods might be roasted and the and the
pulp beaten that way. The leaves and flowers are also
edible and sometimes added to salads or soups or stews.
(08:01):
The trees are a popular ornamental or shade tree in
the tropics, and the wood is used as well. UM.
The older wood from the heart of the tree is
this like lovely, uh, purplish brown and pretty strong, so
it's apparently really prized and like furniture making and stuff
like that. Um and the seeds are edible too. They
can be roasted and ground and used as a sort
of flower or as a coffee substitute, or can be
(08:24):
processed into a type of pectin um for use in
jellification or as a stabilizer in foods and other industries.
The bark and flowers and fruits and leaves are also
sometimes used in dying. It is a. It is a
very very dying like coloration, not like right death, sure
that I'm aware of. Well, we are going to talk
(08:46):
about graves later. Excellent where it goes goth. I've been
waiting the whole time, the whole time. I know, you know,
a very very useful tree overall. Um and yeah, I
found so much not about food. I know that the
tree seems very prized and very loved where it grows. Um.
(09:10):
And I have to say this whole thing hearing your
description of it. I it's one of those episodes are like,
this is weird, This is weird that this grows on
a tree. Does Yeah? I yeah, I was. As I
was reading, I was just like plants, y'all, what are
they doing? Lots of stuff, they get up to stuff.
They do get up to stuff. Well, what about the nutrition?
(09:35):
You know, Thailand is kind of sugary, but does have
lots of fiber and a good bit of protein. Um.
It is in the lagoon family. Um. Also a good
spread of minerals. It will help fill you up and
keep you going. Um, you know, parent with a little
bit of fat, maybe maybe a vegetable, you know, always
always eat vegetable and Tamarin has been used in traditional
medicines where it's grown for basically ever, research is being
(09:58):
done now and how it might be adapted into medicine
going forward. UM. The planted, especially the fruit to do,
contain compounds that have anti microbial, antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and
laxative effects, so it totally makes sense that it's been
used to help heal wounds and relieve some pain, topically
to help relieve constipation and other stomach upset. Further research
(10:20):
is being done into extracts and how they might help
treat cancer, cure bacterial infections, all kinds of things. As always,
bodies are complicated. More research needs to be done before
in taking a medicinal dose of anything, you should probably
check with a medical professional. And that is not us. Nope,
(10:42):
not at not even close, even close. We do have
some numbers for you. India is the world's largest producer
of tamarins. Yeah, they produce over two tons a year. Uh.
Thailand comes in second with a hundred and forty thousand
(11:04):
tons a year. It's also grown in Central America and
the tropics of South America, plus the Caribbean, Southeast Asia,
and the South Pacific. UM. Yeah, a lot of the
numbers that I was looking for we're well a hidden
behind pay walls. But be UM really separated out into
these different market segments for UM for tamarind kernel powder
(11:28):
made from the seeds, for industrial uses UM and uh
tamarind extracts used as flavorings. So uh, for whatever that's worth.
That's that's the information that I have for you. That's it.
There you go. Uh. And I also we're doing the
research for this. I did run into a lot of
(11:48):
accounts that I am always tickled by because my mom
is somebody who actually she really loves big trees. Okay, yeah,
so I was just reading about, you know, how big
they can get, but also how old they can get,
and like there are stories about some of these trees
being hundreds of years old. So sure to tell my mom.
(12:10):
Oh yeah, timor and tree fact. Like when we were
in Tofino, Canada, we all got to choose an activity
in hers was I want to go to this place
as these big trees. Heck, yeah, no, I'm my trees
are pretty I'm I'm into that. Yeah. It was awesome too.
It was like it felt like something out of a
fantasy novel because it was the bridges, were you know,
(12:31):
all rickety and oh cool? Yeah, yeah, anyway, Um, we
do have some history for you. We do, but first
we've got a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
(12:52):
and we're back. Thank you sponsors, Yes, thank you, and yes,
as we said at the top of his Lauren and
I were just discussing, Uh, there was a difficulty getting
to the history of this one, and we suspect it
has to do with being on America Google. Yeah, yeah,
it's it's I I was. I was cursing the fact
(13:13):
that that like I just haven't learned every language on
the planet, and that I, therefore have, you know, a
certain lack of access to a lot of worlds knowledge. Yes, yes,
so if any listeners, Again, you don't have to be
an expert, but even just someone kind of like us.
We were very passionate. I don't know what I would say,
(13:35):
expert expert, a nerd food awkward. There's like one very
specific point there is there is, Yeah, that that ven
diagram has a yeah. Yes, yes, so any and all
Tamarin facts stories information welcome. Yes, yes, but here's what
we have. Yes, so terror and most likely originated in Africa,
(13:59):
although Some sources suggest that it's actually from India, but
most historians think it was introduced and adopted in India
so early on in that country that often gets misreported
as being from there, especially like in early days when
you know you might have a connection by you, I
mean people's are cultured you, but my advoc connection to
(14:21):
India are not Africa or vice versa. So it was
mentioned in Indian scriptures between sometime between twelve two D,
which yes is a wide range. UM and charcoal would
analysis indicates that the tree was in India by b C.
However I can only find that one place, but that's
around the same time. Whatever the case, the tree definitely
(14:45):
appeared in India early and recorded history, and it was
introduced to Persian and Arab people's possibly around sixth century CE,
from India, and they called it the Indian date to
mar Hindi. Yeah, yeah, that that naming might contribute to
some of that confusion about where it's from, but absolutely
(15:06):
different episode. But Chutney and Andia goes back to fifth
century BC, and Tamarind almost certainly went into some of
those early Chutney's I would imagine early Marinades as well,
going back to the fourth century BC. The ancient Greeks
and Egyptians were familiar with tamarind. Yeah, it was being
(15:26):
cultivated in Egypt by that time. By the first millennium
b c. E at tamarind was in Asia. Okay, I
love this, and I had a trouble verifying it, but
I wanted to share it. Apparently Alexander the Great and
his cohorts were really interested in behaviors of the tamarind flower,
that it closed at sunset and opened during sunrise. Yes,
(15:52):
so one of Alexander's generals recorded witnessing this while and
he was in what is now Bahrain in fourth century BC.
And Lauren. The reason one of the reasons I wanted
to talk about this is because as we were discussing
recently via text, we were discussing the trope and fan
fiction of like modern au settings where there is a
(16:14):
coffee shop, it's setting a coffee shop or bakery or
flower And I'm reading a Star Wars one right now
that I love that is in a flower shop and
it has a flower that does this. There are a
number of flowers that do that. Um, yes, but but
that's that's really that's right for for anyone who's completely
(16:35):
unfamiliar with the world of online fan fiction. Yes, that
that is a that is a common trope, that a
that a fan fiction will be set in a alternate
universe where the superheroes or whatever art. Yeah, run a
flower shop. I still, I'm still so fascinated by how
that just became a thing, just a whole thing. Yeah.
(16:58):
I think it has to do with Victorian our language
being really fun. But anyway, darn it. Now, I want
to know all about that. Different podcasts. Rain yourself in.
If anyone has any fan fiction questions, we can help you.
We can help you. Oh heck yeah, okay, alright, alright,
(17:19):
alternate podcast when we when we finally run out of
foods to talk about. Oh my gosh, that is our
fan fiction. Au whoa, I brew my own mind loan? Yes, okay,
all right, but back to Arran before I get too
distracted thinking about that. Um. As you said, Laurence. Throughout history,
(17:42):
tamarin has been used medicinely for all kinds of things,
from laria, fever, constipation, diarrha, stomach pain, inflammation, gnera I issues,
and for healing moods and a bunch of other stuff.
I believe also an aphrodisiac. Yeah, that's what the suggested
search is on Google tells me I didn't go down
(18:03):
that path, but I did read. Oh gosh. Now I
don't know what the source was and why I didn't
include it specifically, so this this might be suspect information.
But I did read that it was used specifically, um
to enhance women's sexual pleasure. Oh interesting. UM. Tamarind was
also used by travelers on long journeys to prevent scurvy.
(18:26):
Accounts from the seventeen seventies and seventeen nineties show that
Europeans eight tamarind and used it medicinely. Um. Possibly the
branches were also used for cleaning teeth and switches. I
don't know. I don't know. I'm not sure about that,
but I saw in a couple of places. Um. This
shade of the trees was reported as a popular meeting
(18:48):
space in Africa and the Virgin Islands as early as
the fifteen hundreds. Tamarind was introduced to Mexico, the Caribbean,
and Central America, where it was incorporated into drinks and
into candies, among other things. In some cultures, older trees
and tree grows we viewed as spiritual and possibly as
the dwelling of gods or spirits. And because of this
(19:10):
um there has been at least I found at least
one paper serving grave sites around tammer and trees, so
even if there wasn't a visible grave site, they were
they often found bones mhm um. One of the first
(19:31):
recorded instances of tamarind in Hawaii dates back to seven
though based on the fact that record show tamer and
trees appeared in a bunch of surrounding areas much earlier,
like the Tropical Americas and Bahamas, it very well may
have been introduced to Hawaii before then from the work.
And I'm laughing because I really debated on whether I
should say the whole title, but I suppose I will
(19:54):
when I when I when I first was flipping through
this outline, I assumed that that was a mistake and
I was ready to like to liken italicize a lot
of words, but then I was like, no, this is
great that I see exactly why she included this. Please continue. Yes,
it is called medicinal plants, being descriptions with original figures
(20:17):
of the principal plants employed in medicine, and an Account
of the character's properties and uses of their parts and
products of medicinal Value by Robert Bentley and Harry Truman.
And yes, I thought that was a mistake too. I
was like, surely, here's quote from the subtitles love it.
Tamarins have slightly laxative properties and are also refrigerant from
(20:39):
the acids they contain, and the fusion of tamarin pulp
forms a very grateful and useful drink in febrile affections. Grateful,
grateful drink. Yeah, okay, sure language language. Soon after Worcester
sauce was invented in the eighteen hundreds, tamarind was added.
(21:03):
When the nineteen hundreds rolled around. Tamarind had been naturalized
in almost all tropical areas and adopted into the cuisines
of those areas. The wood of tamarind of the Tamaran
tree was used in wood gas units in India up
until World War Two and recently. Aisha Say's book Beneath
the Tamarin Tree, a story of courage, family and the
(21:25):
Lost Schoolgirls of Boco Haram, came out in twenty nineteen.
And as we said at the top, it seems like
this tree is well loved where it grows, and a
lot a lot of my search results were UM for
books are documentaries or other pieces of entertainment. So yeah,
(21:48):
I find that really really interesting and I do I
want to see the tree. Yeah, let's go. Ah, I
do have a VR set. I think that is the
thing you can do. Oh cool. So yeah, maybe maybe
not the same, but until this iss over, Yeah yeah,
(22:14):
added to our list are very very long fielding go
somewhere with the tamarind tree. Yes, we have a lot
of options to be fair, so we do, we do
um and thanks to all the listeners who suggested this one.
It was very fun for me to go in completely
(22:34):
not knowing what it is and then for it to
be kind of strange at least didn't know how it grows.
I was like yeah, yeah, and especially coming off of
Annie's first suggestion or on the list of suggestions Annie
sent to me for this one, UM was passion fruit
and I was like, oh, passion fruit, totally passion fruit.
(22:55):
Why haven't we done passion fruit yet? And then about
five minutes later she messaged me back and was like, dude,
We've totally done passionate. So so going from something that
we have forgotten that we've already done a whole episode
about to something that you didn't know what it was. Yes, yes, yes,
that episode is called Lily Coy it was probably series um.
(23:20):
And also the listener who wrote in and suggested that
lindsay that episode does exist. We both forgot about it though,
so we don't. Yeah, no shape. But also your other
suggestion may or may not be coming up soon. So
and speaking of we do have some listener mail for you.
We do, but first we've got one more quick break
(23:41):
for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank
you sponsor, Yes, thank you, And we're back with listen
freeze in a tree outside and so long. Um. Melissa wrote, uh,
(24:12):
this is by far my favorite way to enjoy chicken
nuggets Frankenstein into a meal that bears passing resemblance to
a poutine. Yes. McDonald's most impressive quality for me has
always been their ability to adapt their staples to local context,
and I highly recommend this for anyone who comes across
McDonald's in Quebec. I say this as a person who
has tried to limit meat consumption as much as possible
(24:34):
because of the ethical environmental issues around factory farming chicken
McNuggets are pretty horrifying to me from that point of view,
but I still find myself grabbing one of these about
once in summer. Problematic food faith maybe, and Melissa sent
a picture this is an actual menu item. Ah, yes,
and I agree, Melissa, this is I've said I don't
(24:56):
need it McDonald's. But every time I go to a
new country, I like to go into one and look
the menu and be like, Wow, look what you got
at this one. Oh yeah, yeah, I I do. I do.
I do love that being in a different place and
being like, what's on that? What I feel like. I
think this is, you know, easy to say when you
(25:17):
grow up with something, But I feel like most McDonald's
internation McDonald's have better food options than we do. Yeah. No,
I think that that You are not the only person
to hold that opinion. Okay, it seems like that is
what everybody says. Sean wrote, I am impressed that you
made it through the entire Whipped Cream episode without a
single Stewie Griffin a family guy whip sound. I was
(25:41):
raised in Avon, New York. It's the only place in
the world that cool whip is made. My backyard growing
up was bound by railroad tracks used to bring in
corn syrup. I was able to tour the factory a
few times. The Canadian versions of cool Whip are noticeably sweeter.
Perhaps the most interesting thing from the main facturing process
is that they use Sherwin Williams industrial paint mixers to
(26:04):
do the whipping. You are probably underestimating the size as
you imagine it. Okay, one another field trip. Yes, I
want to see this too. I think that it is
very telling of my personality that the reference I made
in that episode was not Yes, the very well known
(26:26):
and recognizable family guy. It was the Star Wars holiday special.
I've had to sit with that and decide how I
feel about it. But I'm okay with it. That's well,
I'm I'm glad. I'm glad you're okay with it, because
that is like the most any Reese thing that I
probably the reference I should have made. Oh well, but
(26:53):
thank you, thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Important important culture note. Yes, we always love those work
and culture notes, and clearly we have areas that we
I'm saying we, but it's really me too much knowledge
on for apps and not spread knowledge so yes, we
do appreciate it. Thanks to both of those listeners for
(27:15):
writing in. If you would like to write to us,
you can our emails hello at savor pod dot com.
We're also on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at saver pod, and we do hope to
hear from you. Savor is production of I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts on my heart Radio, you can visit
the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
(27:36):
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
are coming your way
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Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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