Amla
Phyllanthus emblica · Fruit
Top 10 pairings
Amla, the Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica), is a small, hard, translucent pale-green fruit that is one of the most intensely sour and astringent foods in the Indian pantry. Central to Ayurveda and to Indian pickles, murabba, candy and juice, its fibrous flesh is fiercely acidic and puckering raw, mellowing when brined, sugared or cooked, and it is exceptionally rich in vitamin C.
Picking a good onedrag
UnderripeOverripe
Full greenEveryday bestPeak amla, and as ripe as it will get at home. Hard, glassy, translucent: grate raw into chutney, press for juice, or pack whole into pickle and murabba.
SkinPale translucent green, waxy sheen, furrows clear
The squeezeHard and dense, heavy in the hand, no give at all
Stem endClean pale scar, dry and tight to the skin
Smell at a cutVery little: clean and sharp, more acid than aroma
Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — updates with it.
What you get from one
95%
Edible part
24 g flesh · one stony six-segmented seed-case, about 5% of it
25 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A home fridge ruins amla. Indian storage trials found chilling injury at 6 C and at 9 C, and none at 12 C, so keep it in the coolest part of the room, not the salad drawer.
90-95%
Humidity