Description
This is the most favorite Mexican candy of all 10 of my children…sweet, spicy, and so yummy. Full of tamarind fruit. Makes a great activity for children to help with on a long rainy or hot summer day…and homemade has no traces of lead…like some store-bought tamarind candies.
Ingredients
- 1 pound tamarind pods, peeled
- 1 cup water
- 1 orange, peeled and segmented
- 4 cups white sugar
- 4 tablespoons chile-lime seasoning (such as Tajin®), or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Bring tamarind pulp
- water
- and orange to a boil in a pot; continue to boil for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Pour tamarind mixture into a colander placed over a large bowl. Mash and scrape against the side of the colander until all the juice and pulp drips into the bowl. Dump remaining seeds into a strainer and repeat the process; remove the outer casing around the seeds by hand and toss out the seeds.
- Blend outer casings with juicy pulp in an electric blender.
- Return mixture to the large pot and add sugar
- Tajin®
- and butter. Bring to a soft boil
- stirring constantly. Heat to 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water and placed on a flat surface.
- Remove from heat and let cool
- about 2 hours.
- Fill a pastry or plastic sandwich bag with the candy mixture and squeeze onto plastic spoons. Place plastic spoons onto a cookie sheet and chill until firm
- about 1 hour. Coat with more Tajin® if desired
- wrap with plastic
- and close with a twist tie.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 50