20 Ways to Taste a 2024 Flavor of the Year
Sweet, intense, and acerbic, tart tamarind gives all kinds of dishes and drinks a boost.
"Tamarind adds its bewitching sharp-and-tangy tones to cuisines across the world; it's a magical ingredient that has the power to cure, quench, and make our mouths pucker (in the best way possible)," says Indonesian-Australian chef and food writer Lara Lee of the beloved tropical fruit. Indeed, much like lemon and lime, tangy tamarind offers contrast, complexity, and brightness to sweet and savory dishes alike. There's good reason tamarind was named the 2024 flavor of the year. Here's what you should know about this powerhouse ingredient.
What is tamarind?
Tamarind is a fruit grown as pods on trees in tropical regions around the world. The pods start out as a pale green color, then ripen into a reddish-brown, then a deep brown color.
What does tamarind taste like?
Tamarind is known and loved for its tangy, sweet-sour, flavor, with elements of acidity that can add a welcome sharpness. It's bold flavors make it an excellent partner for lending complexity to both sweet and savory dishes.
How do you use tamarind?
You can find tamarind in various forms, shelf-stable and refrigerated or frozen, in Asian markets or online. Here's what you'll find and how to use it.
Pods
Whole tamarind pods are categorized depending on the stage at which they were harvested. Sour tamarind, or green, unripe tamarind, is the most tart and acidic. Ripe tamarind is brown, with a pleasantly strong sour taste. Sweet tamarind can be eaten straight from the pod. Source fresh pods at some major supermarkets, Asian and Indian grocers, and online.
Dried tamarind pulp is sold in bricks that contain the membrane and seeds from tamarind pods. Once tamarind pulp has come into contact with air, it oxidizes, which is why these blocks are often medium to deep brown, or even black, in color.
Paste
Tamarind paste is seedless, made from the flesh of tamarind that has been diluted with water, making it easy to integrate into dishes. Good-quality pastes should only contain tamarind, water, and (sometimes) a preservative, but no artificial sweeteners or corn syrup. Our testers liked Somboon brand tamarind paste, which comes in bricks.
Concentrate
Tamarind concentrates are thick and black with a molasses-like consistency. The intense flavor of tamarind concentrate gives oomph to the marinade for Tamarind Chicken and enlivens the caramel in Tamarind Millionaire's Shortbread. Concentrates may also be diluted to a flavor similar to tamarind water, if desired, by mixing them with water. Look for Tamicon brand.
Frozen
There is also frozen unsweetened tamarind, which can have a weaker potency, so you may need to add more to taste. Thinner and less intensely flavored than other forms, simply defrost and use as needed.
Powder
Finally, there's tamarind powder, made from dehydrated and ground tamarind. This pungent, highly concentrated form of tamarind can be used to flavor candies, drinks, and sauces where a recipe calls for it, but it cannot be substituted for the paste, concentrate, pods, or pulp.
How do I cook with tamarind?
Often used in the form of frozen pulp, concentrate, or paste, tamarind is an easy way to add interest to cocktails (Tamarind Whiskey Sour, anyone?), poultry (Balinese Grilled Chicken!), decadent desserts (hello, Tamarind Millionaire's Shortbread), and more. If tamaring is not already a pantry staple at your house, try any of these tantalizing tamarind recipes and we're sure it soon will be.
Tamarind Chicken
The beauty of this grilled tamarind chicken is both its sharp and piquant flavor and its simplicity. A potent tamarind-and-chipotle marinade renders a richly flavored, juicy, and tender chicken in mere minutes, making it equally suited for a weeknight meal or a dinner party.
Tamarind Jelly Candies
Paola Velez's tamarind pâte de fruit is sweet, tangy, and altogether delicious. To make the candies really sparkle — both figuratively and literally — she coats them in homemade flavored sugars.
Chickpea Doubles with Tamarind and Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
Traditional Trinidadian doubles are served open-faced and quickly wrapped in wax paper, letting the bara steam and keeping the spicy filling piping hot. Try leftover tamarind sauce in margaritas, drizzled over fresh mangoes, or with roast pork.
Pineapple and Tamarind Cooler
Jose Mandojana
This refreshing non-alcoholic punch from chef Gregory Gourdet includes a subtle habanero kick that bridges the sweet (pineapple) and the sour (tamarind) flavors.
Timorese Fish-and-Tamarind Soup
This is a vivifying soup, good in warm or cold weather. The chile and ginger gently warm your mouth, while acidic tomatoes and tart tamarind come together in the delicate and fragrant broth, which, while light, is full of flavor and satisfying. The fish gently poaches in the broth during the last minutes of cooking to infuse both the soup base and the fish itself with aroma and flavor, leaving the fish tender, flaky, and moist.
Tamarind-Chile Jam
"Move over tomato ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise," says cookbook author and recipe developer Lara Lee. "There's a new condiment-that-goes-with-everything in town!" Meet Tamarind-Chile Jam, a one-pot wonder that is sweet, spicy, sour, sharp, tangy, and pungent all at once.
Tamarind-Mezcal Sour
Smoky mezcal and savory bitters are rounded out by sweet-tart lemon juice and tamarind puree in this punchy cocktail.
Tuna Tartare with Coconut and Jerk Peanuts
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This flavor-packed, refreshing-yet-assertive tartare of finely diced raw tuna is tossed with a tamarind-spiked coconut-lime dressing and topped with jerk-spiced peanuts.
Tamarind Whiskey Sour
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Liberty Fennell
Tart, sweet, and refreshing, a traditional whiskey sour has an appealing, rich texture and packs a hefty alcoholic punch. This drink somehow improves on that perfection with the addition of tangy tamarind to add depth and complexity to the sour in the whiskey sour. It's a cinch to throw together and will definitely impress any guests.
Balinese Grilled Chicken
Grated fresh turmeric gives this grilled chicken a golden glow, while plenty of garlic, ginger, and puckery tamarind add brilliant flavor. Serve the chicken with sambal matah, a bright, slaw-like condiment with chiles, shallots, and makrut lime or Key lime juice that offers a refreshing counterpoint.
Tamarind Sangrita
Sangrita — “little blood” — is salty, sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once. This molasses-colored version seasoned with chiles and spices offers a sweet-sour balance for pairing with añejo tequila, or mix it with lime juice and top it with porter to make a special michelada.
Lamb Barbacoa with Masala Adobo
For this dish, chefs Saqib Keval and Norma Listman of Masala y Maíz in Mexico City draw from Indian and Mexican cooking techniques for a one-of-a-kind flavor profile. The restaurant version uses bone-in lamb wrapped in maguey leaves. We found that you can cook the dish in a smaller Dutch oven if you use boneless lamb and omit the leaves — the results are just as spectacular.
Tamarind Millionaire's Shortbread
Tamarind concentrate adds a gloriously sharp acidic profile to balance the decadent caramel layer of this version of the afternoon treat, topped with the bittersweetness of dark chocolate and a coconut-y shortbread biscuit base.
Steamed Sea Bass with Tamarind Sauce
Chef Jean-George Vongerrichten serves this steamed fish in a pool of tamarind-based sauce that's perfumed with toasted spices, coconut milk, peanuts, ginger, and harissa.
Tamarind Beef
Chef Chris Yeo marinates cubes of beef tenderloin in a sesame-oil mixture so it's even more tender, then adds flavor by searing the pieces in shallot-infused oil. The crispy shallots fried beforehand in the oil make a terrific garnish for the beef. Tangy tamarind sauce tops it all off.
Honey-Tamarind Baby Back Ribs
Naturally tart tamarind keeps the honey-based barbecue sauce from becoming too sweet for the luscious, slow-cooked ribs. Opt for dark, runny tamarind concentrate instead of tamarind pulp, which needs to be soaked and strained before using.
Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tamarind, Ginger, and Chipotle
The late chef and restaurateur Floyd Cardoz shared his secrets to slow-roasting salmon. Here, he flavors the fish with spicy ginger, sweet maple syrup, tangy tamarind, and smoky chipotles. Cooking salmon at a low temperature (300°F) prevents it from drying out and mellows the flavor.
Caramelized Red Onion Rice with Tamarind
In her cookbook Fresh India, Meera Sodha uses sweet-and-sour tamarind paste to turn plain rice into a show-stealing side. The tamarind is essential here; find it at well-stocked grocery stores and Indian markets.
Crisp Noodle Pancake with Tamarind-Glazed Chicken
Chef Sang Yoon's succulent chicken, glazed with an Indian-inflected blend of tamarind, vinegar, and chile, sits on a pan-seared cake of slender Chinese egg noodles. The glaze is terrific with any poultry.
Beer-Braised Baby Back Ribs with Orange-Tamarind Sauce
"I started making my Abilene sauce 20 years ago, and every year I tweak it or add something," says chef James Holmes of his signature barbecue sauce. Despite its spicy intensity, the pork and beer flavors come straight through.
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