I’m sure that you have been tasting many types of fruit. But star fruit is not so popular in other countries except for Asia. “What does star fruit taste like” may be the issue that many people want to discover.
From my experience, this fruit is not usually eaten as pure, plain whole fruit as other kinds. The fact that they are considered as an ingredient for cooking recipes more. Why is that?
Let’s check this out!
What Does Star Fruit Taste Like?
There are only two featured words to describe star fruit, which are sour and sweet. This fruit starting with S is pretty sour when it is green and sweet when ripe.
It is not too sour as lemon, just a slight acidic flavor that is similar to citrusy. It tastes like a mixture of other non-round fruits like pears, kiwi, and ugli fruit. If you eat unripe star fruit, it will be sour and a little bit tart. You better let them ripen before eating if you love sweetness.
About the texture, star fruit is considered a kind of berry. Therefore, it’s juicy and succulent. The skin is smooth and firm, with a satisfying crunch covering flesh inside, giving you an indescribable feeling when biting.
Besides, with a unique shape, star fruit slices are also used to embellish chilled beverages.
How Much Do You Know About Star Fruit?
Star fruit is a tropical fruit with another name called carambola. It is believed that they first grew in Sri Lanka and the Moluccas, and then they became popular in Southeast Asia. The reason for its name, star fruit, is that when sliced, its cross-section looks like a five-point star.
Today, star fruit has become more popular in the world. But it is still most commonly grown in Southeast Asian countries, especially Thailand. About the color, the unripe star fruit is green. When it becomes ripe, the color gradually turns yellow with brown edges.
Fruits are only in the best flavor when they are harvested in the season. People often think of summer as the season of fruits. But it’s not true for star fruit. If you want to enjoy delicious star fruits, it’s better to eat them in late autumn or early winter.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Starfruit?
Star fruits contain a lot of vitamins and other nutrients that are beneficial for health (1) . Let’s see how these nutrients have positive effects on your body.
Good For Hydration
Star fruit is on the top of the fruit containing the most water, 90%, only after watermelon with 91%. After intense exercise and fitness, using star fruit for refreshment is not a bad choice.
Instead of drinking 2 liters of filtered water every day, you can reduce the amount of water and replenish it by eating star fruit. An effective way to hydrate but also taste good, why not?
Help With Anemia
Star fruits are not a rich source of iron; however, you can replenish iron with the help of vitamin C. Do you wonder why I said that? It’s because vitamin C will stimulate your body to absorb iron.
Thus, you will avoid the risk of iron deficiency anemia with just eating an appropriate amount of star fruit instead of having to regularly take many different drugs.
Anti-Inflammatory Ability
With the high level of vitamin C, a common antioxidant, star fruit can be used as a resource to fight inflammation and reduce skin diseases. It also helps relieve the pain associated with arthritis.
Help With Digestive System
Fiber plays an extremely important role in supporting the human digestive system. And fortunately, star fruit has a lot of essential fiber.
Thanks to fiber, other minerals in the body work more actively, and at the same time, promote the regular functioning of the digestive system.
Lower Cholesterol
Despite being essential for health, cholesterol could cause build-up in the blood, hardening of the arteries if its level is too high, increasing the risk of heart disease.
The fiber in star fruit can reduce harmful cholesterol levels, along with sodium and potassium act as electrolytes, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.
Help In Weight Loss
The high amount of fiber in star fruit plays an important role in helping you lose weight by boosting your metabolism. In addition, it is also low in calories, and you safely eat star fruit without worrying about gaining weight.
Increase Respiratory Health
If you have a cough and sore throat, a star fruit should be there for you because of its anti-inflammatory ability. This fruit is a preferred choice for handling respiratory infections as well as supporting overview health.
In some Asia countries, star fruit is used in traditional medicines that replace common medication.
Give You Young And Tight Skin
Do you want to have a young skin like yourself several years ago? If yes, don’t forget to add star fruit to your menu. Thanks to antioxidants, star fruit helps your skin look young.
There are many functional products on the market that are advertised to help you increase and synthesize collagen. Now you don’t need them anymore because the extremely high vitamin C content in star fruit will help you do this.
Help You Sleep Well
The minerals in star fruit are really important to the human’s metabolism. These factors are the reason you should eat star fruit if you have signs of trouble sleeping.
Good sleep only comes to you when everything in your body is working properly. And it is surprising that star fruit has such an effective role thanks to its abundant magnesium content.
Side Effects Of Star Fruits
Despite many benefits for health, there are some side effects you should consider before trying this fruit.
Risk Of Kidney Stones
There is a compound called oxalic acid in star fruit, which is produced in the human body and then naturally excreted through the urine. If you consume a large amount of this compound, it could cause kidney stones. Therefore, don’t eat star fruit too much.
To people with kidney disease already, absolutely don’t eat star fruit because it could cause neurological complications. It’s really dangerous!
Allergies
It’s rare to find cases that are allergic to star fruit, but it doesn’t mean this number is zero. For the first time eating star fruit, you should try just a small piece to test how your body interacts with this fruit.
If you are unlucky, allergic to this fruit, it may result in digestive upset such as vomiting or nausea. Seek emergency medical help in this case.
Medication Interactions
Some ingredients in star fruit have interaction with medications. They can affect how drugs consume and break down in your body—specifically, inhibiting the elimination of drugs in the body.
In some cases, it will lead to the concentration of the drug in the body being stagnant and exceeding the allowable level, leading to unexpected dangers. If you’re not sure if you could eat star fruit or not, ask your doctor for complete peace of mind.
How To Store Star Fruit?
Star fruit is not easy to find in the market at fair prices. Therefore, don’t waste them by letting them become mushy. It’s not so difficult to store this kind of fruit. What you need is just circumspection. Unripe and ripe star-fruits will be stored in different ways.
As is common, under-ripe star fruit can be stored at room temperature for about 2 weeks. You don’t need any special methods to store star fruit. Just place them at room temperature and wait for ripening. Even if you want a longer time, put them in refrigerated storage for about 4 weeks.
On the other hand, ripe star fruits should only be stored in the fridge for a maximum of up to 1 week. Because when they fully ripen, it’s easier for them to be mushy and spoiled quickly.
The time you can store star fruit depends on how ripe they are. Remember one thing, don’t wash star fruits before storing them in the fridge. You just should wash them if you have the intention to eat them right then.
There is still another way to store star fruit for up to 3 months, that is to freeze them. In this method, you have to clean and cut them into slices before putting them into the refrigerator. Don’t forget to cut off their brown ridges.
How To Eat Star Fruit?
You can eat star fruit as fruit alone or as an ingredient in a dish. I prefer the second one, but if you desire to try star fruit as a snack, here’s the answer.
Use As Plain Fruit
First of all, you should choose a star fruit with the following features: firm skin with bright yellow, the edges should be light brown. These are signs of ripe fruit with a sweet taste.
After picking the desired star fruit, cut off points on each end and brown edges along each side. In the next step, you can cut them into slices to create shapes of five-point stars. Instead of using molds to create beautiful star shapes, simply cut them into slices. This is interesting, right?
To enjoy more fully, you should use the tip of the knife to remove the tiny seeds inside that cause discomfort when chewing.
Use In Cooking
In case you want to use star fruit for cooking, there are so many recipes available. Because of the sour flavor, star fruit is usually used in cooking recipes as an ingredient that makes dishes special. For cooking, I recommend that you pick raw star fruits.
The preparation is the same as the above steps. The only difference is the ripeness of the fruit. Raw mature star fruit combining with other fruits makes a wonderful accompaniment for your sandwiches, thus enhancing the nutritious value for your quick lunch as well.
For more complex food recipes, it’s better if you lightly stir-fry star fruit and then continue to add other ingredients to the dish. In this way, star fruit will make your dish more flavorful.
Recipe Ideas For Delicious Foods With Star Fruit
Asian people usually use star fruit in fish, shrimp, and other seafood dishes. They also can be cooked in curries.
If you don’t have any idea for the next meal, why don’t you try star fruits? The following recipes may become your favorite.
Star Fruit Quencher
What’s better than a cup of cool juice as an idea to start your days in hot summer? With a simple juice recipe, you can use star fruit with other fruits to create a delicious cup of juice according to your own preferences.
Star Fruit Jam
Starfruit jam can be kept for a long time and is often served with bread. With sweet and sour taste and moderate consistency, star fruit jam is definitely a choice that will not disappoint you.
Star Fruit Salad
Combine star fruit with other vegetables, plus a little sauce. You will have a very simple and delicious salad bowl. This is really an indispensable dish on the menu of people on a weight loss diet.
Star Fruit With Fish
The easiest way to ensure a tender fish fillet and maintain its flavor is by baking. Add star fruit as an ingredient, and this recipe will give you a totally new dish.
You can also braise the fish with star fruit and a few other ingredients to create a delicious savory dish.
Star Fruit Cake
I will finish with a cake that any child would love – star fruit upside-down cake. A beautifully decorated cake with slices of star fruit and caramelized brown color. Who can turn a blind eye to such a delicious cake?
Easy recipe for a star fruit upside down cake for you to discover. See this video to know more:
FAQs
With all the above information, I hope you got the answer to the question “what does star fruit taste like.” However, if you suddenly have other questions about star fruit, the answers below will help you solve your problems.
Are You Ready To Add Star Fruit To Your Meal?
If you are just wondering about the taste of star fruit, hopefully, you will have the answer after reading this post. In case you want to get the real feeling, why don’t you order star fruits now and experience them by yourself?
I hope that the information that I have provided you will give you an overview of this not-so-popular fruit in the US.
If you have ever tried eating star fruit, how do you feel? Is it similar to what I described? Please leave your comments below this post.
References
1. https://www.pgcps.org/globalassets/offices/food-and-nutrition/docs–food-and-nutrition/fruit–vegetable-information-sheets/star-fruit.pdf [Online]
