Tamarind Wine

[jackkeller]

For several years I have been eying Tamarindus indica with thoughts of
making tamarind wine. For those not familiar with this fruit, it
originates from tropical Asia (India) and the tree is cultivated in
southern Florida and Mexico; it is naturalized in the Florida Keys and
parts of Mexico. The fruit is in a thick-skinned pod with a sour pulp
and large seeds. It contains pectin, sugar, malic and tartaric acids,
and is unusual in that it is one of the most acid and at the same time
richest in sugar of all fruits. I am told it is often pressed and made
into refreshing drinks which are sometimes fermented. It is made into
preserves, chutneys and curries, and in Africa is made into a fermented
seasoning called "daudawa."

Tamarinds are VERY expensive here in Texas, but I have lined up a source
for the fruit next year that will cost me shipping only. Even then it
will be fairly expensive and I really don't want to experiment with a
costly fruit of limited quantity and difficult characteristics. Does
anyone have a recipe for tamarind wine or have any other information
about the fruit that may be of value to me in determining how to
approach it's fermentation?

(Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page,
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1172/)

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Before you buy.

[steve_small]

Jack,

I've bought tamarind concentrate from shops that carry Indian spices
and curry pastes. Unfortunately it is very thick and dark brown so it
may not be appropriate for making a light wine - could probably be used
as a substiture for a recipe with figs or raisins. We have a large
Indian population in Vancouver so I can also find fresh tamarinds in
season, but haven't gone looking for them with an eye to pricing for a
wine. It strikes me that the fruit is actually green when fresh.

While I'm on the line of concentrates I live near several Iranian
deli's which carry concentrated pomegranite juice - like a cordial. The
"persian" cuisine uses a great deal of pomegranite juice as a
flavouring, and it strikes me as easier than trying to pry those little
seeds away from that astringent pith. Do you use the fruit or a juice
when making your wine?

Finally I notice that you indicate the acid content of tamarinds. I've
have a list which indicates the predominant acid in many wine fruits,
but it is by no means complete. Where do you go to find this specific
information?

Best of luck with the tamarinds!
Steve

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[jackkeller]

Steve, I appreciate your reply. I hadn't even thought of shopping
for a concentrate, but finding it in an Indian shop makes perfect sense.
That may be a source for me for juice for experimentation (if it comes
to that).

We grow pomegranates, but my wife eats them all or makes jelly (really
wonderful jelly, I might add). Luckily for me, my parents have a dozen
very old and very large pomegranate trees that yield many, many giant
fruit. My mother dutifully peels and sections them and cooks the juice
out of them. This is then strained to remove the seeds and the juice is
bottled in 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles and frozen until they come
see me or I go see them (they live east of Los Angeles, I live south of
San Antonio, but the frozen juice survives the 19-hour drive just fine).
I get between 2 and 2.5 gallons of pure juice every year and it makes
between 5 and 6.5 gallons of wine. I'm very fortunate to have this
wonderful source of purified juice.

I gather specifics on fruit wherever I can find it. I have numerous
books on wild edible plants, agricultural plants, and grape, berry and
fruit varities. I also find stuff on the web and print out the
appropriate data I want to save (usually I copy it to my clipboard and
paste it to a notepad page and print that). I have many 3-ring binders
of esoteric information. I figure that as long as people rely on me to
provide them with info on country wines or on candidates for country
wines, I'd better have good data. Unfortunately, some of it is badly in
need of organization. Sometimes I know I have it but can't find it.
Frustrating, but not a show-stopper. One of these days I hope to go
through it all and build a series of look-up tables unlike any you've
ever seen.

Again, I appreciate your input.