Tamarind Juice

    Several years ago I went on a missions trip to go help out in a small clinic in the Dominican Republic. While we were there the doctor we were working with would take us on walks during the lunch break. On these walks we would first go to the doctor's favorite colmado (similar to a corner store or a convenience store) and grab juice before we went to check on a few patients in the neighborhood that had trouble making it into the clinic. My favorite thing to get at the colmado was jugo de tamarino, aqua de tamarino, or tamarind juice. It had a similar flavor to apple cider but it was served cold and was almost nuttier. It is such a unique flavor so it is hard to explain. A tamarind is a legume that almost looks like a peanut but it grows on a tree, has more seeds inside, and is bigger. I was too scared to eat one raw but I've been told they have a kindof funky tangy flavor. 

    Anyway, I quickly became obsessed with tamarind juice but I never found it at any stores in the US. Or at least in the grocery stores in Minnesota. That was until I went to Walmart and found a box of tamarinds! Yes, it is not the same as the juice but I was very confident that I could replicate this drink I had been thinking of for years. 

    Of course I started by googling how in the world to make tamarind juice. Every article I read said that you had to take off the shell, boil the insides, mush them, and them mix them with water and sugar. Some of the recipes added a few other ingredients such as lemons, lime, or cinnamon. 

    I started by shelling all of the tamarinds in my box. I ended up with about 3 cups of the insides. I added them to a small pot with about 4 cups of water and brought everything to a boil. I let it boil for about 5 minutes before I took the pot off of the heat. You should use a potato masher to mush everything but I do not have one so I used one of those things that you use to make ground beef. I honestly don't know what these tools are called lol. When things were mashed pretty well and everything was still pretty hot I added in 2/3 cups sugar and mixed it in and continued to mash things until the sugar was dissolved. I then got a fine strainer and poured the juice through. 

    I wanted to get as much flavor as possible out of my tamarinds so I used a whisk to push the pulp through. I don't mind pulp but I knew it would bug my husband so I did end up straining it a second time without pushing the pulp through with a whisk. After I strained everything the first time I poured 4 more cups of water into the pot with all of the veins and the seeds and mixed everything vigorously until I was sure I wasn't going to get anymore deliciousness out and I put that through the strainer. 

    When everything was strained I added some lemon to my juice. This part is totally optional but I remember you could ask for a slice of lemon in your juice at one of the colmados I went to so I went ahead and added it. I then let that sit in the fridge to cool. After a few minutes I finally got to taste the fruits of my hard work and it was AMAZING. It was just like I remembered it. It was so nostalgic and delicious. Honestly, since tamarinds are only in season from February-March, I'm debating on figuring out how to store tamarinds on a long term basis so that I can make this year round! if you know how to long term can juice or how to preserve tamarinds PLEASE leave a comment to tell me how!

    How did this recipe work for you? What do you like to make with tamarinds? Leave me a comment!