434 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



It is not sufficiently hardy to be grown in any part of Cali- 

 fornia. 



Yule and Burnell say: "The origin of the name is curious. 

 It is Arabic, tamar-u'l-Hind, 'date of India/ or perhaps rather 

 in Persian form, tamar-i-Hindi. It is possible that the origi- 

 nal name may have been thamar, ' fruit' of India, rather than 

 tamar, 'date."' In French it is tamarin, in Spanish and Portu- 

 guese tamarindo. 



The fruit is widely utilized in the Orient as an ingredient of 

 chutnies and curries and for pickling fish. In medicine, it is 

 valued by the Hindus as a refrigerant, digestive, carminative, 

 laxative, and antiscorbutic. Owing to its possession of the 

 last-named quality, it is sometimes used by seamen in place of 

 lime-juice. With the addition of sugar and water it yields a 

 cooling drink or refresco, especially well known in Latin America. 

 In some countries tamarinds are an important article of export. 

 In Jamaica the fruit is prepared for shipment by stripping it 

 of its outer shell, and then packing it in casks, with alternate 

 layers of coarse sugar. When the cask is nearly full, boiling 

 sirup is poured over all, after which the cask is headed up. 

 In the Orient the pulp containing the seed is pressed into large 

 cakes, which are packed for shipment in sacks made from palm 

 leaves. This product is a familiar sight in the bazaars, where it is 

 retailed in large quantities ; it is greatly esteemed as an article 

 of diet by the East Indians and the Arabs. Large quantities 

 are shipped from India to Arabia. 



The pulp contains sugar together with acetic, tartaric, and 

 citric acids, the acids being combined, for the most part, with 

 potash. In East Indian tamarinds citric acid is said to be 

 present in about 4 per cent and tartaric about 9 per cent. The 

 following analysis has been made in Hawaii by Alice R. Thomp- 

 son : Total solids 69.51 per cent, ash 1.82, acids 11.32, protein 

 3.43, total sugars 21.32, fat 0.85, and fiber 5.61. Commenting 

 on this analysis, Miss Thompson says : " The tamarind is of 



