Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

Candy: Sweetened tamarind fruit is made by peeling whole ripe fruits and
pouring boiling (62� C) sugar syrup over the fruits and placing in a deep
enamel basin. Boiling syrup is prepared by mixing three parts sugar with one
part water. After soaking for three days, the fruits are drained of the old
syrup and again covered with freshly prepared syrup. The process is repeated
until the fruits are sweet enough. The sweetened fruits are arranged on
bamboo racks, dried in the sun and covered with a wire screen to keep off
flies. Final drying is done in an oven at a low temperature. After cooling the
dry fruits are wrapped in cellophane.
Champoy: Tamarind fruits may also be processed into balls or ‘champoy’
which is a common tamarind product in the Philippines. To one cup of pulp
with seeds are added two cups of boiled and mashed sweet potato (Ipomea
batatas), two cups of sugar, one-eighth cup of salt and one cup of water. The
mixture is cooked in a moderate fire with constant stirring until it becomes
thick and may be shaped into balls. The balls are rolled in sugar and
wrapped in cellophane.
Ade: This is a refreshing tamarind drink prepared in the Philippines and
some tropical American countries by mixing ripe pulp with sugar and water
until the desired taste is attained. The simple home method of making Ade is
to shell the fruits, placing them in 2-3 litres of water and allow it to stand for
a short time, then adding a tablespoonful of sugar and shaking vigorously.
For a richer beverage the shelled tamarind should be covered with hot sugar
syrup and allowed to stand for several days and finally diluted to the
required strength with iced water and strained. Sometimes spicy seasonings,
such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper or lime slices, are added to
improve the taste (Morton, 1987). In Brazil, Ade is prepared by covering the
shelled fruits in cold water for 10-12 days, then the seeds are removed and
strained and a cup of sugar is added to every two cups of pulp. The mixture
is boiled for 15-20 minutes and placed into glass jars topped with paraffin
and diluted as desired. It is a popular drink in the tropics of America and it is
bottled in carbonated form in Guatemala, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
3.8 Other uses
Tamarind fruits and other extracts from the tree have a number of reported
miscellaneous uses which are still used widely. Tamarind pulp mixed with
sea salt has been reported to polish brass, copper and silver in Sri Lanka
(Jayaweera, 1981), India (Benthall, 1933; Eggeling and Dale, 1951; Coates-
Palgrave, 1988), West Africa (Morton, 1987), South Africa and Somalia
(Mahony, 1990). In West Africa, an infusion of the whole pod is added to
the dye when colouring goat hides. The fruit pulp may be used as a fixative
with turmeric (Curcuma longa) and annatto (Bixa orellana) in dyeing, and it
also serves to coagulate rubber latex.
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