Tamarind Syrup (Recipe)

When I'm not feeling like drinking I make syrups. Syrups are great for cocktails, but they make great ingredients in non-alcoholic drinks and sauces as well.

Tamarinds are seed pods with a sticky, bittersweet and citrus flavor. Cooking them down makes a thick syrup that you can use to baste meats with or add to tea. But it also goes great with juicy drinks.

To make tamarind syrup, get a pint of tamarinds or roughly a quarter pound of the seed pods.

1. Break the pods and remove the stems beneath the outer shell that connect the seeds and pulpy parts of the inner pod.

2. Heat the seeds and pulp in a solution of 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Use medium to high heat and stir continuously so that the sugar dissolves.

3. Turn heat down to medium low and use a potato ricer to smash up the pulp, which will begin to dissolve into the sugar syrup. Continue mashing until the seeds are separated from the pulp and the solution is syrupy.

4. Use a fine mesh to strain the syrup into another container and remove the seeds and pulp. The syrup should be thick and opaque, but not pulpy. Strain a second time to remove any particles.

5. Pour into an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.