Tamarind Sweets
The fruit is, as the name suggests, a
sweet variety of a fruit generally associated
with an acid taste. After being peeled
it is generally eaten fresh, though soaked
in water it also makes a refreshing juice.
Other, more sour varieties of tamarind
are used in various cooked dishes for flavoring.
The food uses of the tamarind are
many. The tender, immature, very sour
pods are cooked as seasoning with rice,
fish and meats in some places. The fullygrown,
but still unripe fruits, called
“swells” in the Bahamas, are roasted in
coals until they burst and the skin is then
peeled back and the sizzling pulp dipped
in wood ashes and eaten. In Belize, the
fully ripe, fresh fruit is relished out-ofhand
by children and adults, alike. The
shell lifts readily from the pulp and the
lengthwise fibers are removed by holding
the stem with one hand and slipping
the pulp downward with the other.
The pulp is made into a variety of products; sugared and sour tamarind sweets
are often prepared as a confection. If ripe,
fresh, un-dehydrated tamarinds are available;
this may be done by pressing the
shelled and de-fibered fruits through a
colander while adding powdered sugar
to the point where the pulp no longer
sticks to the fingers. The seeded pulp is
then shaped into balls and coated with
powdered sugar.
Another way it is prepared here in
Belize is with salt, pepper and sugar
which makes for a sour and spicy treat.
This way, the tamarind is mixed with the
ingredients and is usually bagged and sold
as is. This candy (tamarind sweet) is famously
rich with its natural taste and
makes for a ‘must try’ for the next time you visit the local stalls. The sweet or
sour treats are easy to make and is very
yummy for the whole family to devour.
Purchase them at your local fruit and
veggie stand in Ambergris Caye, try
them today!
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