Tamarind pods come from the tamarind tree, which originated in Africa and now grows in many tropical regions. Tamarind is used in Asian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and South American cuisines. The sticky pulp of the brown pods has a sweet and sour flavor. It provides tang and acidity to entrees such as pad Thai and chutneys, desserts, beverages, syrups, sauces, and candy. It is a low-glycemic fruit with many beneficial micronutrients, making it a nutritious whole food ingredient. To approximate the sweetness and tang tamarind brings to recipes, cooks sometimes substitute equal parts brown sugar and lime or lemon juice. But there’s more to its flavor: Notes of caramel and molasses give tamarind more complexity, and its acidity is somewhat milder than that of lemon and lime and lacks the hints of bitterness found in citrus.Tamarind pulp is widely used for cooking in South and Southeast Asia, Mexico, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. The seeds and leaves are also edible.It is used in sauces, marinades, chutneys, drinks, and desserts. It’s also one of the ingredients of Worcestershire sauce.The polyphenols in tamarind have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. With these you can make tamarind paste, tamarind juice, tamarind concentrate, or jarrito tamarindo.WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.