Previous entries in my alphabet of produce (asparagus, avocado and beetroot) were grown by my Dad on the farm where I grew up. As well as having a personal connection to these items I also have an expert on hand to give me tasty informative tidbits that you all may find interesting. So I am going out on a limb introducing the star fruit here, but I couldn’t resist. Although there is a Carambola tree on the farm these fruit are from somewhere entirely different.
Carambola, or star fruit for obvious reasons, is popular throughout the tropics with Malaysia being the biggest worldwide exporter of the fruit. The carambola tree on the farm grew without much encouragement, though the yield was quite small with my sister eating the majority every year. The fruit will soften and get slightly sweeter after they are picked, but for the best flavour they must ripen on the tree. Unfortunately these bright yellow fleshy geometric oddity are often too tantalising for birds, flying foxes and insects, so rarely last full term in my experience. Perhaps this is why in different countries in Asia the unripe fruit is often picked green and used as a vegetable, too astringent still to eat alone.
Where I grew up is expansive, lush green and nature quiet (alternatively known as bird noisy) complete with relaxing rainforest and hidden fruit trees. These carambolas are from a complete opposite kind of place. My mum’s yard in Hanoi, from the lone full sized tree caught in between our house and a neighbours wall. Dusty, dirty concrete, packed full with people and houses, dogs and construction, motorbikes and opera singers. Plus the maid picked them. Regardless these fruit still get eaten by pests while they’re on the tree and they taste just like my memories from the farm.
That is, not terribly delicious. There I said it, I don’t love carambolas, I don’t even really like them. Their unpleasantly waxy exterior gives way to soft flesh which despite being overly juicy still tastes dry. Visually they are wonderful additions to fruit platters, and I’m sure that a tropical cocktail could be made from the juice, best enjoyed at a beachside sunset. My carambola experiments all failed. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but trust me star fruit and ginger are not friends. Heat a carambola up to caramelise a star and the skin gets tough and the flavour even more grassy. Ice cold carambola juice is certainly refreshing on a hot day, but so is young coconut, water or better yet, beer. Has anyone got a good recipe for carambola because as far as I can see they are a beautiful waste of space.
**EDIT (May 2010): I just noticed our carambola tree has some babies. They grow out of the branches from these pretty pink flowers.
9 Comments
Ahh, memories. My dad used to get carambola juice all the time when we eat out. That said, I thought it tasted kind of meh too.
I have always used carambolas for their visual appeal when I do a food scene… the taste is … well that crisp sweetness is charming if not compelling… I always end up eating the end bits or slices that didn’t make the cut…I don’t know that I could swoon for them.. but they aren’t so bad (is that damning with faint praise, or what?). That said, a syrup of star anise is tasty with them…cold of course, with a squeeze of lime!
deana@lostpastremembered´s last blog ..Lemon Buttermilk Rum Punch
Not. Terribly. Delicious????? That’s it. You are dead to me.
Hilarious! I like the odd one, but I know what you mean about them. I don’t mind them as much as you, but they can be mouth-puckeringly astringent. I had some unripe ones cut up in a beef salad in Ho Chi Minh and it rendered the salad inedible. My parents say they’re good for stopping runny noses, but I wonder if that’s one of those Chinese things they came up with because if it’s mouth puckeringly dry, it probably does the same to your nose.
Perhaps their best use is cut up into star shapes, dipped in paint and given to children for shape/finger painting?
Forager´s last blog ..South American eating tour – Crossing the Andes from Argentina to Chile
I really love the look of carambola and they look great in salads but I’m afraid I’m with you on the waxy taste! I don’t know what I was expecting when I first tried one but I recall being distinctly underwhelmed lol
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Interview with Lyndey Milan and Win a Signed Copy of The Best Collection
Haha, Ella is certainly opinionated.
I love star fruit, they were my favorite when I was a child, and Im not usually a fan of the pucker, dry thing. I just like to eat them by the slice… then again I hate cucumbers, so maybe I am just a freak.
Robin @ Good for the Plate´s last blog .."Foods I wouldn’t mourn were they to suddenly disappear from the planet"
I didn’t know the name of this fruit and didn’t have the chance to research. Maybe I always forget. Good thing I stumbled upon your blog. Your blog is nice and I like it =)
The Artist Chef (Joanie)´s last blog ..Hungry Jack’s Melbourne
I recall Carambolas north of the Daintry eaten straight off the tree when ripe being delicious. Elsewhere they are juice.
Rose: Carambola juice, in which country? I’ve never seen it available, but that is probably because it is never translated into english, or is translated into something I don’t understand.
deana@lostpastremembered: Oh star anise would be nice with them. Good idea! I find them visually interesting, enough said
Ella: Hey, it means more for you, right?
Forager: Haha, like potato printing, great idea! I am yet to try the unripe version in salad, but soon no doubt. They are probably very high in Vitamin C or similar, interesting.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella: Good to know that I’m not alone in my carambola disinterest.
Robin @ Good for the Plate: Haha, Ella is opinionated and a carambola loving freak like you
The Artist Chef (Joanie): Thank you
Dadbeet: Really? Surprised they survived the onslaught of insects up there. These ones here in Hanoi are very similar to the ones from home. Boring, I’ll leave them to Ella and the flying foxes to feast ‘pon.