the.com/tamarind
the sour pod that bullies your tongue, then bribes it back with sweetness
means A tropical tree, and the brown sticky pulp inside its curved pods, prized for a tart-sweet flavor used in everything from chutneys to candies to drinks.
from From medieval Latin tamarindus, which lifted it from Arabic tamr hindī — literally 'date of India,' because the dark, sticky pulp reminded Arab traders of dates, and India was where they met it. The tree itself, oddly, likely originated in tropical Africa before spreading east, so the name records a delicious geographic mix-up: an African native called an Indian date in Arabic, then handed down through Latin to half the languages of Europe.
- actual fruit
- It's a legume, cousin to peas and beans
- name origin
- Arabic for date of India, despite African roots
- metal hack
- Its acid scrubs tarnish off copper and brass
- global agent
- Stars in Worcestershire sauce and Indian chutneys alike
- long life
- Trees fruit for over 200 years
tamarind paste — acidic pulp from tamarind pods used in thai, indian, and mexican cuisines for sourness instead of lime or vinegar
tamarind tree — tamarindus indica, native to africa, now cultivated across tropical regions including india, mexico, and southeast asia
tamarind candy — popular mexican sweet-sour candy made from tamarind pulp, sold as pulparindo or pulpa de tamarindo in latin america