Adventures in Carambola

Adventures in Carambola

            For the blog post, I decided to take a trip to the store with my grandfather. While we were there, I chose three possible choices – honeydew melon, kiwi, and ataulfo mango. We were close to wrapping up the trip when my grandfather pointed out the carambola, and I decided to go with that instead.

            The carambola looked and reminded me of a bell pepper at first glance, but the oval shape and long ridges that run along the fruit’s sides say otherwise. The fruit did not have a smell to it, so I assumed it to be odorless. Appearance-wise, the carambola’s exterior is dark yellow and felt waxy like a candle on my fingers. The ridges were thick and brown at the bottom. 

  The interior contrasts in terms of touch and color – smooth, semitransparent, and a light yellow, with yellow on the corners. There are also light brown seeds in the middle that you can get out with your fingernail. I got the carambola in the first place since it wasn’t a fruit I have heard nor tried before and the odd appearance interested me.

            After we purchased it and got home, I researched it online. It is called “star fruit” due to the inside resembling that of a star. It is a species of tree that is indigenous to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. It is a light green color when unripe and is grown in tropical areas. It’s also said to have an oxalic acid odor, which I did not pick up.

     I planned to eat it plain since I wasn’t intending on cooking it for a recipe. I chose my preparation method by looking up on how to clean it online. I washed the fruit thoroughly in the water, making sure there was no dirt stuck in the ridges. I used a cutting knife afterwards to make a couple slices, which was easy to do. As I cut into it, the fruit sounded if it was a piece of paper being ripped apart. The inside of the fruit was no surprise to me since I figured it would look different compared to the outside.

        

            The fruit tasted sweet on my tongue, close to that of a red delicious apple. I noticed there was a trace of sour in there as well, much like that of a lemon. The texture was smooth and made it easy for me to pinpoint the tastes. The taste and texture weren’t what I expected, but I liked both nonetheless. I would suggest carambola if you like fruits like with this combination or ones rich in vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants! I would not recommend trying carambola if you have kidney problems or take prescribed medicine, since the neurotoxin inside the fruit might cause harm.