Vacation DIY: Making Tamarind Juice
Vacation time is here and its time for me to start poking around in the kitchen. On the way home from church a couple Sundays ago, I spotted a tamarind tree laden with fruit and I decided “I’m going to make tamarind juice.”
Here’s how I went about making the juice.
1. With the aid of a step ladder and the roof of an SUV, I gathered tamarind from the tree. It was about less than a quarter of a typical sized plastic bag full.
2. While shelling the tamarind, I put water on to boil. Be on the look out for any spoilt tamarind or those that might be infested by critters…you don’t want that in your drink.
NOTE: It would be a good idea to taste the tamarind while shelling. This would give you an idea of how much water you need. The more tart the tamarind…the more water you should add, unless you like things sour. (The batch that I picked was major league sour)
After shelling, this is all the tamarind I had actually picked. I was a bit disappointed and thought that I wouldn’t get enough drink. (That disappointment was short lived)
3. The boiling water was poured over the tamarind and left to soak overnight.
4. I mashed the tamarind ( a potato masher will work) to get the remaining juices out.
5. Then strained and sweetened. You may choose to add more water if the mixture is still too tart.
6. I then chilled and enjoyed ( shake well before pouring)
A little tamarind apparently goes a long with. I made gallons of tamarind juice with the little I picked… and boy did it taste good!
