Tamarind Featured on ‘The Next Iron Chef’

Introduction to tamarind

Tamarind image from Flickr.

There are plenty of reasons to watch competitive cooking shows: the characters, the drama, recipe ideas and generally learning about food and cooking. I learned something new this week from “The Next Iron Chef” — the very existence of tamarind.

I had never heard of tamarind before Sunday’s new episode of “The Next Iron Chef,” and it appears a lot of others are in the same boat. The Food Network show pits 10 chefs against each other to determine who will be the next chef to join the regular cast on “Iron Chef.” None of the cooks appeared perfectly comfortable with the tamarind, which they were charged with including in two dishes that had “Mexican flair.”

Tamarind not too tough

Though tamarind is an unusual ingredient, the competitors on “The Next Iron Chef” have certainly been through worse. Though cooking with tamarind is not as easy as getting online loans, it’s much easier than cooking with some of the ingredients the chefs have been challenged with before, including sea urchin and grasshoppers.

Tamarind is the fruit of a tropical plant that’s native to Africa. It’s commonly used in India. In fact, it is sometimes referred to as the “Indian date.” The flavor of the fruit is slightly sweet, sour and very acidic. Several chefs, including winner Chef Mehta, used tamarind in desserts. Mehta made ice cream, and it finally turned out well. He had tried twice previously to make ice cream, and both times the end result was runny.

Who went home on tamarind challenge?

French Chef Dominique Crenn, from San Francisco, remained very confident throughout the latest episode of “The Next Iron Chef.” She even said she was going to win this challenge. However, it apparently takes more than talent and tamarind to win a challenge.

Crenn was sent home, much to her dismay and disagreement. The judges complained that her dish was bland and underseasoned. With the not-so-challenging challenge and the overall lack of drama, the whole episode wwas a little bland, despite the mysterious tamarind. However, things are about to heat up again, as it was revealed that next week will feature a double elimination. I’m on the edge of my kitchen stadium seat!