A virgin tamarind margarita makes the perfect treat to beat the heat during the miserably hot days of August. It’s an icy combination of tamarind, lemon, orange, and lime flavors that slides down the throat like a tangy bit of paradise, helping you to forget the sweaty hair sticking to the back of your neck, or the shirt sticking to the small of your back. I fell in love with this concoction during our most recent trip to Cancun, and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since.
Tamarind, by itself, is an ingredient that a lot of Americans are less familiar with, but are almost guaranteed to have tasted, because tamarind is the main flavor ingredient in Worcestershire sauce. Tamarind is fruit that grows in a pod-like structure on a tree. The fruit has a wonderfully sour, tangy, and slightly sweet flavor, is high in protein, potassium, and vitamin A, and is a good source of calcium, B vitamins, and antioxidants.
When I received an email from FromTheFarm.com (FTF), a company that offers farm-fresh specialty foods for delivery to your door, offering to send me one of their 5 pound boxes of Tropical Fruit to play with, I immediately thought of recreating the virgin tamarind margarita from our trip, starting by making a tamarind pulp from the fresh tamarind in the box.
FTF acts as an online farmers market, with the goal of supporting American family farms. As such, all of their products as shipped directly from family farms from around the US, and nothing is ever warehoused by FTF. My box of tropical fruit came directly from Bob Petrucci of Fresh Gardens, a family-owned farm in Dade County, Florida. One of the downsides to having lived and traveled around the world, is that I have developed tastes for ingredients that can be harder to find locally. I love that through FTF, not only is there a way for anyone to enjoy fresh foods straight from family farms, but there is a way to get some of the more exotic ingredients that I love that are grown within the borders of my own country! How could you not smile having all of this gorgeous fruit sitting on your kitchen table? I was lucky to get a picture because it disappeared so quickly. When it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables, nothing is safe when the Fujis are around!
FTF and Farmer Bob launched a brand new Tropical Fruit of the Month Club today, so to celebrate I’m sharing my recipe for that virgin tamarind margarita with you, and one of you is going to receive your own box of tropical fruit from Farmer Bob, courtesy of FTF! After you enter to win (details after the recipe below), pull out your blender and whip up a bit of paradise (aka, virgin tamarind margarita) to survive the remainder of the summer heat.
Print This Recipe
Virgin Tamarind Margarita
Makes 4 servings
For salting the rims of the glasses:
coarse salt or Tajin seasoning* for rim
1 lime, cut into wedges
For the margarita:
6 ounces (3/4 cup) tamarind pulp (see recipe below)
2 ounces (1/4 cup) simple syrup
8 ounces (1 cup) lemonade
2 ounces (1/4 cup) orange juice
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cups ice
1. Salt the rims: Pour enough coarse salt (or Tajin) onto a small plate to cover the surface, then gently shake the plate to evenly distribute. Make a cut down to the peel in the middle of a lime wedge. Place the lime wedge onto the rim of a glass and gently squeeze it and run it completely around the rim. Then dip the rim of the glass into the seasoning on the plate, and let it sit for a few seconds, then set it upright and repeat with the remaining glasses.
2. Make the margarita: Place all of the margarita ingredients in a blender and blend until frothy. Pour into the rimmed glasses and serve.
* Tajin seasoning is what decorated the rim of my glass in Cancun. It’s a wonderful mixture of Mexican chili, lime, and salt, and makes a fun alternative to a regular salted rim!
Tamarind Pulp
Makes approximately 6 ounces
Adapted from Rick Bayless’s Fresh Tamarind Pulp Recipe
4 ounces fresh tamarind pods (about 4 large pods)
1 cup water
1. Remove the tamarind flesh from the pods by holding the pod in one hand, then pulling out the stem with the other hand, then removing any remaining shell and the strings that run down the pulp.
2. In a small, non-reactive (non-aluminum) saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the tamarind flesh to the water, then remove the saucepan from the heat and let it sit until the flesh has softened completely (depending on how fresh the pods are), approximately 1 to 2 hours.
3. Use your fingers to loosen the softened tamarind flesh from the seeds and fibers. Pour everything through a fine mesh sieve into a clean container, and discard the solids that remain in the sieve. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
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From The Farm Tropical Fruit Giveaway
One very lucky reader will receive their own Tropical Fruit Box from Farmer Bob, courtesy of From The Farm!
To enter, leave a comment below before Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 at 11 pm EST (8pm PST)! This giveaway is open to anyone with a U.S. shipping address. The winner will be chosen via random.org.
If you aren’t the lucky winner, never fear! You can still order something delicious from Farmer Bob and get a 10% off discount! Just use Coupon Code: LAFUJIMAMA, to save 10% on all tropical fruits. This coupon code is valid from now through September 3, 2012.
Make sure you check out all of the other offerings from family farms that are available through FTF and connect with them via:
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i’d love some fresh fruit!
The fruit sounds great, and I love tamarind so that drink looks so good. It’s not hot in Seattle, anymore, though! Today was 60 and we’re wearing long sleeves!
Fantastic giveaway- yum! That virgin margarita looks fantastic!
Fruit, fruit, and MORE fruit. That’s what we eat. (Plus veggies.) I want some of your drink.
These are some wonderful tropical fruit that I love. They are widely available in Hong Kong (where I grew up) but not in the States. It’s good to know that From the Farm has these beauties. :)
amy [at] utry [dot] it
I love tamarind but I’ve never tried using the fresh pods. And your tamarind margarita is looking very delicious!!!
I love it when you make mouthwatering things with recipes I have easy access to! Tamarind at the local store? Check :)
Wowww! Makes my mouth water! Sure would love to be so lucky!!!!
Now I need to try that drink…!
Yum! I’ve never had tamarind in a drink before, I’d love to try it.
How fun it would be to receive a box like yours! Thanks for the chance, and thanks to Farmer Bob too!
Beautiful post – and such a luscious and original “cocktail”. Stay cool!
This sounds absolutely AMAZING! So amazing, I had to retype ‘amazing’ three times to spell it properly!
Fresh fruit makes an amazing gift!
Fruit sounds great!
Love it! Tamarind is so good!
I love snacking on fruit so this box of juicy goodness would be awesome!!
Awesome giveaway! I’m off to check out From The Farm! Thanks!
Totally forgot about the tamarind in my pantry. What a great idea!
so glad you did this review. I am from FL and never heard of this fruit club or the farm. Would LOVE the opp to win this and do a review!
Cathy B*****y pbprojecthope at yahoo dot com
@projecthope7
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I just saw some tamarind the other day and was wondering what it was. Now I know and would love to try some in that wonderful looking beverage.
never used tamarind. but the drink looks good!
I’ve always wondered how tamarind was prepared. Your blog has really helped to expand my culinary horizons. Next time I go to the market I’ll look for the tamarind. Thanks!
This will be a great recipe to add to my collection!
My family is from the Philippines, so I’m very familiar with tamarind and other tropical fruit. I’d love to win a box!
What a great way to extend summer as fall approaches! :)
Oh man, that sounds so delicious! I hope I can win a box of fruit so I can try this out myself.
Oh I’d love to win! I’m missing home (Dominican Republic) so much and fresh fruit would be awesome!
Thanks for the chance to win! Would love to receive a box!
Thanks for the chance to win!
What a great giveaway! Thanks for the recipe.
I tried it once in spicy candies from Asian market. Really loved it!
I’d sure love to win some delicious tropical fruit.
That tropical fruit looks so tasty.
That drink sounds delicious…I wish I’d had the recipe before I left a part of the world where tamarind was readily available! Some fresh tropical fruit would be great :)
wow! this looks so refreshing~
I love tamarind. Thanks for another idea how to use it.
Oh what great things I could do with all thise great looking fruit!!!!
Great giveaway!! We love fresh fruit!!
So I wouldn’t even know what to do with Tamarind, but now I know! And now I want to go back to Cancun again! And the Tajin seasoning? Get out of here! This is all too cool of a margarita!
This sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to try your Virgin Tamarind Margarita, it has been awhile since I have had Tamarind.
Amazing giveaway!! Logan fruit and rambutan are my hands down favorite fruit and I always have a hard time finding them in the States!
Magnificent drinkie, thanks for the tutorial
That sounds like a beautiful margarita!
One of my life dreams is to belong to a [Blank] of the month club. This looks awesome.
Mmmm margaritaaaa
free fresh tropical fruit? yes please!
Love this,would make a very unique gift !
My sister introduced me to tamarind and now I can’t get enough. I’ll have to share this with her (:
tropical fruit… one of the things i miss most about home (hawaii)