Sour and tart
Tamarind, amchur, sumac and dried lime: acid from the spice rack.
Sour spices give acidity without liquid. Sumac, tamarind, amchur, anardana, kokum and dried limes are used where a cook wants tang.
What makes them sour
Their fruits contain organic acids, such as tartaric acid in tamarind and malic acid in sumac. Amchur is dried raw mango powder, anardana is dried pomegranate seed, and kokum is the dried rind of a fruit from western India.
How cooks use them
They sour curries, chutneys, soups and kebabs. Tamarind is used in South Indian rasam and Thai pad thai sauce, sumac in Middle Eastern salads and meat, and dried limes in Persian and Gulf stews.
Tips
Sour spices store well and are handy where fresh citrus is scarce. Add them gradually and taste, as sourness builds.
Sour and tart on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇪🇸 Spain and 4 moreCaper
The pickled flower buds of a drought-tolerant Mediterranean shrub.Flower · Sharp and pungent · Sour and tart
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreTorch gingerkecombrang
The edible pink flower bud of a rhizomatous plant, used for sourness in Southeast Asian cooking.Flower · Sour and tart · Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Caper: IssamBarhoumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Torch ginger: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source