What the Heck Is Star Fruit and How Do You Eat It?
Star fruit is so impressive visually, but not super well known.
Few fruits are as visually striking as the star fruit—a sweet-tart tropical fruit that cuts into perfect star-shaped slices. Yep, that's right, it easily cuts into stars—no cookie-cutters required.
But where does this fruit come from? Where is it typically grown? How do you tell if it's ripe and ready to eat? How on earth do you eat it?
We'll dig into all these questions and more.
What is star fruit?
The star fruit is mainly grown in Thailand and throughout South East Asia, Australia and South America. Star fruit, whose official name is carambola, grows in humid climates and can be found throughout the year. Its color ranges from green to yellow (similar to a banana).
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Star fruit taste
Star fruit has a tart, citrusy flavor, almost like a mix between an apple, a pear and (a hint) of lemon.
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Star fruit nutritional facts
According to Healthline, this is the nutritional content of a single star fruit:
Fiber: 3 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Vitamin C: 52% of the RDI
Vitamin B5: 4% of the RDI
Folate: 3% of the RDI
Copper: 6% of the RDI
Potassium: 3% of the RDI
Magnesium: 2% of the RDI
How to eat star fruit
When picking out a star fruit, look for firm, bright yellow fruits tinged with light green, and colored slightly brown along the ridges. Once you wash the fruit, you can eat it as is, without any peeling or cutting necessary (although cutting it allows you to see the fun star shape!).
How to cut a star fruit
To cut the fruit before serving, slice the tips on each end, and then slice the star fruit to your desired thickness. The star shape of this fruit is half of the fun, so you'll most enjoy serving it this way, rather than chopped or diced. The entire fruit is edible, though you may want to remove the flat seeds in the center—do this either with the tip of a knife or with your finger.
Once cut this way, you can serve this as a fruit alone, in a fruit salad or as a flavorful garnish.
It’s usually eaten raw and plain, though it can also make a refreshing addition to desserts, preserves and juice drinks.
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Can you eat star fruit seeds?
Yes, you can eat star fruit seeds. However, similar to apple seeds which are also edible, it is usually preferred to remove the seeds prior to eating.
Is it OK to eat a whole star fruit?
While star fruit has plenty of vitamin c, beta carotene and cholesterol-lowering qualities, eating a whole star fruit on your own might be a little too much for some. Because star fruit is high in oxalate, some individuals may have a hard time processing the compound and cause either an upset stomach or lead to kidney damage. If you have concerns about your kidneys or have had problems eating other oxalate-rich food like spinach and chard in the past, you should speak to your doctor before consuming star fruit just in case.
Where to buy star fruit
You should be able to find star fruit in the produce section of your grocery store or market. However, if you are unable to locate this particular fruit, check a specialty market or Asian market near you.
Storing star fruit
Like cherry tomatoes, you'll want to store star fruit on the countertop at room temperature. While you can normally avoid the refrigerator, if the fruit is beginning to ripen too quickly and get some brown spots on its yellow appearance, you could put in the fridge to buy you some extra time.
Star fruit smoothie recipe
Check out this star fruit smoothie recipe for a delicious and refreshing drink:
Have you ever tried a star fruit? How do you like to eat it?
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