Devil in a Blue Dress
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Carambola
Author(s):
Charlotte Balcom of The Sentinel Staff
Section:
FOOD
Publication title:
Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Fla.: Oct 23, 1986. pg. G.1
Source type:
Newspaper
Copyright 1986 by The Orlando Sentinel)
Test kitchen
A carambola craze, a veritable starfruit rage, is sweeping the nation, and Florida can claim to be one of the fountainheads. In the last few years, starfruit have increasingly shown up on fashionable tables, on the rims of frothy, tropical cocktails and on the pages of slick, gourmet magazines.
The waxy, five-finned fruits with their biting, tart-sweet flavor can claim to be a bona fide, home-grown tropical specialty. South Florida is the only area in the contiguous United States with the perfect mixture of warmth and high humidity to grow starfruit, though theyre also grown in the Caribbean, West Indies, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
As Floridians, it behooves us to have first-hand knowledge of our famous export, the Averrhoa carambola, especially as orchards planted three to five years ago begin bearing fruit.
Even with increased plantings, its doubtful
whether carambolas will become as common as kiwis because the trees are so cold-sensitive. Just a chill wind blowing when the temperamental tree puts out its delicate white or violet-red blossoms will prevent it from bearing fruit. However, when the trees do bear fruit, they are prolific. They will bloom and produce fruit three times between July and late January. Last year, Floridas largest packer of tropical fruits shipped more than 250,000 pounds of South Floridas carambolas. In 1983, the same company shipped less than 1,000 pounds of the fruit.
Each starfruit has to be picked and packed by hand to prevent bruising or tearing the fragile skin. The fruit comes off the tree just as the center core begins to ripen to yellow: Picked too green and the acid juices eat up the other fruit in the box. (Unripe carambola juice has been used as a rust remover.) If theyre picked too ripe, carambolas will spoil before they reach the supermarkets.
Carambolas are fully ripe and ready to eat when they are yellow to deep orange to the very edges of their fins. After you buy a carambola, it should ripen on the counter in a few days. A fully ripe carambola has a delicious, sweet perfume that could almost be bottled; an irresistible
cross between fruit and flowers.
There are many species of carambola, but they fall into two categories — sweet and tart. Often theyre not labeled as such, but a discerning eye can spot the difference. The sweet variety, such as the Arkin, is a stockier, heavier fruit. The fins are thick and meaty as they taper toward the edge. They ripen to a deep yellow and have a sweet taste, similar to a crunchy plum. The tart variety, such as the Golden Star, is a lighter fruit and the fins are thin and often curved or rippled. As they ripen, they turn a deep golden. They have a tart-sweet taste vaguely reminiscent of fresh pineapple.
The sweet variety is best used in pies, cakes, cold desserts, mousses, salads and drinks. They can be eaten fresh without being peeled, just like apples. The few flat, brown seeds at the core can be picked out. The sweet varieties tend to lose flavor and turn mushy when cooked.
On the other hand, the tart variety retains its tart-sweet taste and its characteristic star shape when cooked. It is a delightful flavor contrast to chicken, fish, shellfish and pork. It can be sliced into Oriental stir-fry, baked or sauteed briefly and arranged with chicken breasts, as in the following Orlando Sentinel kitchen- developed and tested recipe.
Since carambolas have so much flavor, they add flavor to other foods. As with lemon juice, the high acidity reduces the amount of salt required in a recipe.
Tart carambolas are equally good in desserts or eaten fresh. They dont need to be peeled.
Goodings (locations in Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry and Maitland) sell large carambolas for about 99 cents each. Xtra (517 N. Semoran Blvd., Winter Park) and Table Supply (3201 W. Colonial Dr., Orlando) carry the sweet variety of carambolas. At Xtra, medium carambolas cost about $1.38 a pound with about five or six to a pound. At Table Supply, small carambolas usually cost 88 cents each.
Carambolas