Tamarind in Mexico

Hello, friends and lovers of Mexican gastronomy and culture, in this blog post we are going to talk about the uses of tamarind in Mexico!

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Mexico, the tamarind we know is a legume from the tamarind tree or Tamarindus indica, which is a tree of African origin.

This tree takes almost a century to bear its first fruits, hence the saying "he who plants tamarind does not harvest tamarinds".

The tamarind has a high nutritional value as it is a source of vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin B3, acetic acid, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. It also has a high fiber content and a high caloric value.

And thanks to all the aforementioned nutrients, it has been given a significant medicinal use. It is used as a laxative, diuretic, astringent, antipyretic and antiseptic.

In addition to being widely used in food products and as a remedy, this legume and its plant are also used to create black pigments, adhesives and insecticides.

The states of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán are the main producers of tamarind. According to SAGARPA records, national production exceeds forty-nine thousand tons per year.

It is said that, in Mexico, the history of tamarind dates back to colonial times. When the Spaniards arrived in America, they brought several seeds with them and decided to plant the tamarind seed in New Spain. Thanks to the tropical zones that exist in our country, its cultivation spread throughout most of the country. From that moment on, it became a fundamental component of Mexican gastronomy.

Traditionally, the pulp of ripe fruits is used for sweets and soft drinks, since these are sweeter and the pulp of young fruits is used for salty dishes due to its acidity.

And the fact is that Mexicans love tamarind!

We use it to prepare everything from "aguas frescas" (flavoured water), sweets, sauces, desserts, ice creams... you name it, we can put tamarind in it.

Here at Mexhaus.de we have a wide variety of products with tamarind. We have tamarind concentrate from Mexquisita to make your favorite drink, fast and delicious. We also have two sauces that will make your mouth water: La Anita's tamarind habanero sauce and Ki Gourmet's chipotle tamarind sauce.

And we couldn't miss the tamarind sweets! We have: Banderilocas, Banderillas Tama-Roca, Pulparindo de la Rosa, Dartañan, Lucas-Muecas de tamarindo, Assortment of Pelon-Pelorico, Tamango and Tatemudas.

We invite you to try the different tamarind products we have, we are sure your palate will love them and stop by our traditional Mexican food section to delight your eyes with all the foods you can add tamarindto. Let us know in the blog comments, how do you like to eat tamarind?