Open a jar of tamarind you've kept for a while and you'll notice it has gone from a reddish-brown to a deep, almost black colour. Most people assume it's spoiled and throw it out. Here's the surprising truth: that darkening is a natural chemical reaction — the same family of reaction that browns roasted food and bread crust — and the dark, aged pulp is often *richer* in antioxidants than fresh pulp. Let me explain what's really happening, in simple terms. First, what is tamarind made of? Tamarind (imli) is intensely sour for a reason: it's packed with tartaric acid (roughly 8–18%), which also makes it very acidic (pH around 2.5). It's also high in natural sugars (reducing sugars can be 25–45%), plus proteins, pectin and fibre. Those two things — sugars and the building blocks of protein (amino acids) — are the key players in why it changes colour. Tamarind Browns in TWO Completely Different Ways This is the part almost nobody knows. Tamarind's colour ch...
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