If you’re so healthy that you do that yoga with the heat turned up to 100 degrees and you feel guilty when you eat strawberries, then this is the fruit for you!
The Carambola, or Star Fruit, comes in tart varieties and sweet varieties. The sweet only has 4% sugar though (compared to a speckled and ripe banana, which can have up to 90% – yee haw!). So I’m thinking this so-called “fruit” really should surrender its title and just slink on over to the vegetable aisle. Perhaps it could just make friends with the rutabagas.
APPEARANCE 
Green and yellow cylindrical fruit in the shape of a star. Lots of brown edges and bruises.
AROMA 
Lightly lemony.
TEXTURE
Firm, crunchy and juicy – a bit like a firm grape.
TASTE
This reminds me of a slightly sweet, slightly sour, juicy, lemony bell pepper.
OVERALL
This fruit just screams pizazz the second you see it. And then you taste it…and it mumbles “meh”. On the bright side, it makes an amazing garnish and I’m sure it would liven up dessert soups and salads. But seriously, who cares about salad when you can slice these and put them on the edge of champagne glass. Oooh la la.
| FRUIT Carambola |
PEAK All Year |
PROVIDED BY Specialty Produce |
| VARIETY Unknown |
GROWN California |
|
RECIPES
Pickled Carambola
Dessert Pizza with Mango, Peaches and Star Fruit
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Josh // Feb 25, 2010 at 10:36 am
This fruit looks absolutely gorgeous, even if I didn’t eat it I’d still love to gawk at it for evenings on end. Wonder how hard it is to grow/buy them in the UK.
By the way, how do you peel them?
Fruit Maven // Feb 25, 2010 at 11:38 am
Ah – you don’t have to peel them, just rinse them clean. They are very similar to bell peppers in texture/peel/flesh, just a bit juicier.
Mark // Feb 16, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Tried this fruit in Moorea Tahiti in the form of a smoothie … the tangy sweet and sour taste was fabulous enhanced by some other sweeter fruits in the combo.