Subject: What is tancom?

From: [email-masked] (William E. Harvey)
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 1994 20:19:37 GMT

Fram a recent post in this group is a recipe I want to try.  It has
the ingredient tancom.  What is this, and what could I substitute?

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From: [email-masked] (Judy Karpen)
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 14:31:14 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (William E.

> the ingredient tancom.  What is this, and what could I substitute?

Tancom is tamarind concentrate, basically pulp from tamarind fruits from
which the seeds and fibers have been removed. Tamarind is used alot in
Indian cooking to add sourness, and it is quite tedious to use in its
standard form (blocks of compressed pulp with seeds and fibers included). 
Tamarind concentrate can be found at Indian and Thai groceries, in my
experience. If you cant find it but can find the block type, process it by
hacking off a suitable amount (usually a 1-2" square piece for an average
recipe), soaking in enough hot water to cover until all is soft, mushing
the pulp etc thoroughly, then straining it to remove the seeds and fibers.
If you cant find either, something sour like lemon juice MIGHT give a
similar effect, but you'll have to experiment (e.g., lemon juice probably
should be added at the end rather than during cooking). 

-- 
Judy Karpen                        "pushing back the frontiers of
science...."
[email-masked]          Code 7675K, NRL, Washington DC
20375-5352