Crazy Fruit Adventure: Star Fruit

Star fruit have always been an interesting fruit from the far off tropics shrouded in mystery in my mind. I had only ever seen them a few times in the grocery store. On my last trip to the produce isle I grabbed one to satisfy my long curiosity. 

    

The Carambola or Starfruit is grown in various locations in Southeast Asia as well as Latin America, the Carribean and some parts of Southern America. It comes in two main varieties, the small tart Star fruit and the larger sweet one. The entire fruit can be eaten and it is rich in Vitamin C, Potassium,antioxidants and has a low sugar content. 

The skin of my Star fruit (which I'm quite sure had to be a sweet one) was waxy and very easy to slice. It had a particular fragrance on the outside, very sweet, almost fake compared to other fruits I've had. The flesh had an unexpected crispness when sliced which was pleasant. I didn't really know much about my new snack at the time but upon later reading I discovered the entire fruit was only around 30 calories. The flesh was crisp similar to an apple only much more watery. But the taste was definitely reminiscent of apple. It reminded me of a Gala but with it's own Star fruit flair. Sweet, but only lightly with a very faint amout of tartness. It was a delicious satisfaction of a long lived fascination. Aside from its fun appearance and difference in texture it was not very different from apple in my opinion. Still a great treat which I would be happy to eat again. 

Hope this inspires you to go out and buy that crazy fruit or veggie you've always wondered about!

Bye!