How To Tell If Tamarind Is Bad
If you desire to learn how non to waste matter tamarind past agreement how all-time to store information technology, you lot are in the right place. All y'all accept to do is read on.
I will explicate all there is to know nearly this product, including how to apply it and extend its shelf-life.
Tamarind pods come from the tamarind tree, a native of Africa and establish in Republic of india and Pakistan. Indians usually grind these pods into a paste and so flavor dressings, beverages, and sauces.
Every bit well equally paste, tamarind can as well exist found compressed and in syrup grade.
Knowing how to store them properly will hateful you tin accept some on hand when you need them.
Jump to:
- More about Tamarind
- About tamarind paste
- How long does tamarind paste last?
- Does tamarind paste become bad?
- Making your own tamarind paste
- Substitute for tamarind paste
- Tips when cooking with tamarind paste
More than most Tamarind
The tamarind used in cooking is harvested from the gooey pulp surrounding the seeds within a tamarind pod.
Other names for tamarind are tamarindo and Indian date. Information technology contains a loftier concentration of tartaric acid, which imparts a sharp, sweet-and-sour taste to the concoctions to which it is added.
It'south the sort of flavour hit that makes your taste buds wake up and accept notice.
As well equally Africa, Bharat, and Pakistan, tamarind also grows in other Southward-Eastern Asian countries and the West Indies.
The name "tamarind" is derived from the Arabic, "Tamar hind," which means "Indian dates."
If like me, you're a fan of Indian curry, you lot take probably already consumed tamarind, although y'all may not know it.
It is also frequently used in Indian chutneys and several Middle-Eastern dishes, and African and Mexican cuisine.
Tamarind as well has several health benefits, as per this article on the healthline.com website.
Well-nigh tamarind paste
Tamarind paste is fabricated from the night cherry-red-brown flesh that surrounds the seeds inside a tamarind pod.
Once extracted and separated from the seeds, you lot tin can immerse this flesh in hot h2o for around thirty minutes.
And then laissez passer through a sieve to remove any fibrous threads and seeds y'all may accept inadvertently extracted with the reddy-brown flesh.
The flavor of tamarind paste
Every bit mentioned in a higher place, the flavor of tamarind paste is sweet and sour with a abrupt tanginess. The flavor combination changes slightly depending on the other ingredients used.
Information technology also has a certain smokiness and a hint of caramel hidden in its gustation, giving information technology a unique flavor profile. As regards consistency, it is thick and gooey and looks somewhat similar molasses.
The overall flavor is bitterness, but y'all can compensate for the sharpness by adding a niggling carbohydrate.
The ripeness of the fruit as well has a bearing on the sense of taste of the paste. When the fruit is less ripe, the gustation is more bitter. It sweetens as the fruit matures and ripens.
How long does tamarind paste concluding?
The instructions on well-nigh jars or containers of tamarind paste recommend storing information technology in a cool, dry place such equally a nighttime kitchen cupboard or pantry.
But people who cook with tamarind paste regularly prefer to store it in a refrigerator, giving it a considerably longer shelf life and helps to maintain its fresh taste.
When refrigerated, it does get quite thick; therefore, earlier using it is may be necessary to dilute information technology with a niggling h2o.
After employ, you need to brand sure to reseal the container, which will lengthen its shelf-life.
How to shop whole tamarind pods
- Transfer the pods into a Ziploc purse
- Suck out as much air every bit you can, then seal. You tin can remove excess air by zipping closed the zip lock bag only leaving 1 small corner open.
- Insert a straw, suck out the air, and then withdraw the straw and immediately complete the sealing of the handbag. Air extraction is made even easier if you have a vacuum sealer.
When packaged in this way, tamarind pods will remain good at room temperature most indefinitely.
Best way to store concentrated or compressed tamarind
- Unopened jars of concentrated tamarind paste can be kept in a kitchen cupboard or pantry for many months – even years.
- Opened jars or containers of tamarind store concentrate should exist placed in airtight containers or Ziploc bags with as much air removed every bit possible then refrigerated. They will be skilful for up to 3 months.
- If you lot purchase compressed tamarind in block form, the all-time style to store it until you demand it is in your freezer. If the bag is unopened, transfer it equally it is into the freezer.
- In one case the package has been opened, any leftovers should be transferred to a Ziploc pocketbook and frozen.
Does tamarind paste go bad?
I apply tamarind constantly, and I have kept unopened jars of the stuff for up to 2 years. When I open them, I e'er cheque to ensure that no mold has grown in the interim.
I commonly make my own tamarind, so I prefer to buy it in block form every bit it is easy to wrap and store at length at room temperature.
If I am storing tamarind paste or juice, then I e'er go along it in the refrigerator.
Making your own tamarind paste
Wherever possible, I like to brand my own things rather than using shop-bought products, and such is the case with tamarind paste.
It'southward pretty straightforward, and you tin can start by ownership tamarind pods in dried form from Asian grocery stores, selected supermarkets, or online from places similar Amazon.
You lot first need to extract the pulp or juice from the pods, which yous can exercise in 1 of 3 ways.
Method 1 – Traditional
- Tear a small slice of tamarind away from the block and immerse in warm water for approximately 10 minutes until fully softened.
- Squeeze with your fingertips to extract every bit much "juice" every bit you can, then strain.
- Discard any pulp.
Method 2 – Anarchistic
- Tear every bit much tamarind as y'all need from the block and transfer into a glass container.
- Completely cover information technology with water, seal the container, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, it will be soft and ready to go.
- Remove the softened tamarind from the h2o, and squeeze out every bit much juice equally y'all need. You tin can render whatever leftovers to the jar of water. The jar is resealed and returned to the fridge, where it will be good for anything for 1 week.
Method iii – the best way
Every bit I said earlier, I use tamarind, so making my own tamarind paste comes naturally.
Follow this method, and yous tin can always have tamarind juice in your fridge which will exist okay for a calendar week or more than.
The all-time style I have found to excerpt the juice from the lurid is to use your hands. Just doing so introduces bacteria which can touch how long it will be earlier it starts to turn.
That's why the next matter I do is to eddy it. It kills off the germs and prolongs the shelf-life of the tamarind juice.
I always make my juice in majority equally it is not something I desire to be doing every 5 minutes.
ane Place 5 to 6 ounces of tamarind into a microwave-safe bowl along with two cups of water; this is enough to make approximately iii cups of juice.
2 Position the bowl in the microwave and blast on full ability for approximately one minute until it softens. Allow it to absurd.
3 Using a spoon or your fingers, clasp as much juice as you lot tin can from the pulp. Pass the mixture through a sieve.
4 Add together a little more h2o and repeat. I find I ordinarily employ near one loving cup of water in this final process.
5 Don't add too much water, or your juice will be over-diluted. If this happens, it will mean that you have to use an atrocious lot more of the juice in the dishes you are making to get the desired result.
You do need to put everything you lot've got into the juicing.
half dozen Once you finished, discard the leftover pulp and seeds. Transfer the liquid into a saucepan and eddy it on your stovetop for a couple of minutes.
vii Reject the heat and let it simmer for a farther five minutes until information technology begins to thicken, then accept it off the heat and so information technology tin can absurd.
8 Transfer the juice into a hygienically clean jar and refrigerate. When yous use your juice, accept out what you need using a make clean and dry out spoon to avoid contaminating the juice left in the jar.
9 Reseal the jar and render it to the fridge, which will be good for upward to 3 months. Alternatively, you can cascade the juice into ice cube-making trays and freeze it if you desire to keep information technology for longer.
Where to purchase tamarind paste?
Tamarind paste is unremarkably sold either in plastic containers or glass jars. Information technology is highly concentrated, then 1 jar will final a considerable time.
As I mentioned earlier, you can purchase it in most Asian grocery stores and Indian food stores in particular.
Some supermarkets also cease information technology, but if you're stuck, you tin can always buy it online.
Substitute for tamarind paste
The season of tamarind is a combination of sweetness and sour all in one.
If y'all come to use it and discover y'all don't have any, don't panic. At that place are alternatives yous tin can autumn dorsum on.
They all involve combining several ingredients that volition requite you something similar the flavor yous seek.
Option 1 – Worcestershire sauce plus
Some Worcestershire sauces comprise tamarind as ingredients, which gets you off on the right foot.
To get the flavor yous demand, you must add brown sugar, lemon juice, love apple paste, and water.
You will need:
- two tbsp brown saccharide
- iii tbsp lemon juice
- ½ loving cup tomato paste
- 2 tbps h2o
- three tbsp Worcestershire sauce
If possible, you should use fresh lemon juice rather than the bottled diverseness. It gives the final product a better flavor.
If you don't have either, you tin can resort to using lime or apple tree cider vinegar.
Option 2 – pomegranate molasses
If you lot don't have whatsoever Worcestershire sauce around, then pomegranate molasses is your next best bet. Information technology is a viscous dark syrup made by reducing down pomegranate juice.
It volition give you the sweet, sour combination you're looking for with a sour and biting undertaste.
It's ideal for utilise in Asian and Indian cuisine.
If you're going to use this every bit an alternative to tamarind paste, do then in equal quantities.
Pick 3 – Lime juice with brownish saccharide
This is a rather handy alternative considering information technology'southward likely you will have the ingredients at home.
The lime juice gives yous that hint of sharpness you're looking for, while the sugar provides a nice sweet counter.
Yous won't go the same flavor complexity with tamarind paste, but depending on the dish you utilize, many people will not even realize it.
- Quantity-wise, this swap works on a 1-to-one ratio, so if your recipe says one tablespoon of tamarind, replace it with one tablespoon of this lime and brown sugar mixture.
Option 4 – Dried fruit plus lemon juice
The dried fruits of this alternative are apricots, dates, and prunes. After beingness chopped into small pieces, lemon juice and water are added.
The proportions are equally follows:
- i tsp dried apricot
- 1 tsp dried dates
- 1 tsp dried prunes
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- one pocket-sized basin of water
Mix everything, comprehend the basin and wait for 20 to 30 minutes for the dried fruit to soften. Then strain and blend.
Although the texture is tamarind-like, the taste is similar but not equally sharp.
If you oasis't got any apricots, dates, or prunes, you can use raisins instead.
The proportions shown above volition give you nigh ane and a half tablespoons. If you need more, increase the amount of ingredients proportionately.
Selection 5 – Rice vinegar
- Rice vinegar plus brown sugar can as well be used equally an alternative to tamarind.
- If y'all don't have any rice vinegar, you can use white wine vinegar instead.
- The ratio is one to one.
Useful tip:
Don't use cheap vinegar. It tends to be also sharp and will overpower the other flavors of the dish. Use in the aforementioned quantity as yous would tamarind.
Pick 6 – Marmalade
The citrus flavor of good marmalade isn't shut to tamarind'due south, merely it has an astringency that volition do the job.
Again, use it in the aforementioned proportion.
Option seven – Amchur pulverization
Y'all may non be familiar with Amchur powder, but it is pop in Northward India.
It is made from unripe mango, which is chopped, dried, and ground into a powder.
When mixed with h2o in equal quantity, it will give you a fruity, sharp, and sour flavour similar to tamarind.
Swap information technology for tamarind on a one-to-one ratio.
Pick viii – Tamarind pulp
The most probable place to buy this is in an Asian grocery store or online. It is what is used to make tamarind paste.
If the product you lot purchase has seeds in it, you should remove them first.
Hither's what to do:
- Mix 2 tablespoons of the pulp with half a cup of lukewarm water and leave to soften.
- Rub the softened pup between your fingers to turn into a paste.
- If you spot any seeds, remove them.
- Strain to get rid of the water.
Ways to utilise tamarind in cooking
Considering information technology has such a robust flavor, only apply tamarind paste in modest amounts.
You can cook with tamarind paste in many ways.
1
You can add it to sweet condiments like chutney to bring a hint of bitterness.
2
You tin can use information technology to tenderize meat. If you have a relatively tough cut of beef, for example, coat the outside with tamarind paste and leave to marinate.
3
It is used extensively in curries and other spicy dishes. The Indians often mix tamarind with coconut or coconut milk to offset some of the paste'due south sourness.
It'southward a common ingredient in many curry dishes, Pad Thai sauce, coriander, garam masala, ginger and turmeric.
iv
Although it may be an caused taste, you can consume tamarind seeds. In Caribbean area countries, they are roasted and eaten as a snack or ground up and used in Indian block mixes.
5
Tamarind is an essential ingredient of Pad Thai together with fish sauce, sugar, and vinegar.
6
Tamarind paste can also exist used as the main ingredient, although you may desire to combine information technology with carbohydrate to punch downwardly its bitter taste.
Tamarind flesh is also used to make tamarind balls — a sugariness effeminateness enjoyed on many Caribbean islands.
How do tamarind concentrate and tamarind paste differ?
The prime number difference between tamarind paste and tamarind concentrate is the strength of flavor.
As the name suggests, the concentrate has been concentrated directly from the fruit.
Tamarind paste is made from the mankind of the fruit, which has a appointment-like texture.
Considering it's not full-bodied, it is milder in flavor than the full-bodied version.
You can buy tamarind concentrate in small plastic containers.
How tamarind paste or concentrate differs from tamarind pulp
Tamarind concentrate or paste is made from tamarind pulp. It is sold wrapped in plastic.
Y'all can find out more almost how to make your own paste from pulp on the kitchn.com website. Substantially you soak the pulp to soften it and then pass information technology through a sieve.
Tips when cooking with tamarind paste
You lot use tamarind paste straight from the jar or container in which you bought it.
It is very sour, so yous will demand to add as much sugar to arrange depending on your palate.
In the right proportions, it brings a delicious sweet and sour taste to the dishes to which it is added.
Yous will notice that the consistency and strength of flavor vary from make to brand, so you may need to do some testing.
Only when you discover the correct one, it will take been well worth the hassle.
Source: https://www.theforkbite.com/how-long-does-tamarind-paste-last/
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