Author Topic: Best Way to Consume Carambola  (Read 19870 times)

jcaldeira

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #50 on: September 02, 2014, 07:56:56 PM »
My carambola are a bit tart, and find they are great mixed with papaya:

  Papaya, in 25 mm (1") chunks  - 4 parts
  Carombola, in 10mm (3/8") pieces - 1 part

It adds a complexity to the flavor than papaya, without adding as much acid as lemon or lime juice.  Yum!
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mangaba

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #51 on: September 02, 2014, 08:22:48 PM »
Why spend money  in  buying a fruit juicer ? I have carambola tree in my garden. When I have some ripe fruit, I take off the seeds by sliting the fruit vertically. Then put the sliced fruit in an Osterizer with some water. Pass through a sieve and you have nice juice to quench your thirst. Add sugar to taste.
                                                            mangaba

LEOOEL

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #52 on: September 03, 2014, 02:44:38 AM »
My carambola are a bit tart, and find they are great mixed with papaya:

  Papaya, in 25 mm (1") chunks  - 4 parts
  Carombola, in 10mm (3/8") pieces - 1 part

It adds a complexity to the flavor than papaya, without adding as much acid as lemon or lime juice.  Yum!

I've really 'gotta' try that Carambola & Papaya mix. That's an easy one to check off the bucket list; Oh wait, I forgot, I'm gonna live forever!  ;)

mangaba, you're right, I've gotta think twice before shelling out the 'doe' for a professional juicer. Still, if like I said, it would also juice cut chunks of sugar cane, that may just be irresistible, we'll see.
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zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #53 on: September 03, 2014, 09:27:17 AM »


mangaba, you're right, I've gotta think twice before shelling out the 'doe' for a professional juicer. Still, if like I said, it would also juice cut chunks of sugar cane, that may just be irresistible, we'll see.

Forget professional whatever that means..... You can get very high quality Breville JE95XL  on ebay used for about $65. Carambola is not as solid as an apple so I would refrigerate it before juicing

LEOOEL

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #54 on: September 05, 2014, 01:02:38 AM »
Juicer Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ViaDXWlJljA

Zands, that's an amazing juicer, thanx for the tip. And, the price is reasonable. I can see myself cutting off the edges of the Carambola fruit and then just putting it into the juicer, whereas the way I now do it is to also remove the seeds, then put it in a regular blender and then strain it. The guy in the review video doesn't remove the seeds, he just puts it in the juicer and the liquid comes out on one side, and the fiber on the other. All in all, this may be the machine to beat; but does it do cut chunks of sugar cane?

I guess what I meant by professional quality juicers was a machine I saw on a video some years ago. That machine would process fruits and veggies, and it would also pulverize some dried out veggies into a fine powder that would come out another end. Then, this powder could be put inside a capsule-pill, for later consumption. I mean, it would turn the veggies into dust! Imagine the power of that thing. But, I suppose this type of machine and the juicer user you mentioned are two different things.
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PurpleAlligator

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #55 on: September 05, 2014, 09:17:03 AM »
The Omega Vert is a much better juicer, but a little more expensive.  Totally worth the extra cost in my opinion.

http://youtu.be/2q50XbF0Db0

zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #56 on: September 05, 2014, 09:40:32 AM »
Juicer Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ViaDXWlJljA

Zands, that's an amazing juicer, thanx for the tip. And, the price is reasonable. I can see myself cutting off the edges of the Carambola fruit and then just putting it into the juicer, whereas the way I now do it is to also remove the seeds, then put it in a regular blender and then strain it. The guy in the review video doesn't remove the seeds, he just puts it in the juicer and the liquid comes out on one side, and the fiber on the other. All in all, this may be the machine to beat; but does it do cut chunks of sugar cane?

I guess what I meant by professional quality juicers was a machine I saw on a video some years ago. That machine would process fruits and veggies, and it would also pulverize some dried out veggies into a fine powder that would come out another end. Then, this powder could be put inside a capsule-pill, for later consumption. I mean, it would turn the veggies into dust! Imagine the power of that thing. But, I suppose this type of machine and the juicer user you mentioned are two different things.


No sugar cane.... I don't think
je98xl breville is the newer updated version of that juicer. But the je95xl breville is as good. I cheaped out and bought used and I have no problems with it
It zips through watermelon rinds. I always juice the rinds and juiced some yesterday.

zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #57 on: September 05, 2014, 09:50:17 AM »
The Omega Vert is a much better juicer, but a little more expensive.  Totally worth the extra cost in my opinion.

http://youtu.be/2q50XbF0Db0

Try juicing watermelon rind quickly with that low RPM vert juicer. I have lo-RPM juicers and know what the deal is. I don't believe all the propaganda (I used to) about high RPM destroying enzymes and over heating juices. Especially when the produce is refrigerated so you juice it when cold. I have a juice press and I can still squeeze more juice from the pulp after juicing with my low RPM twin gear juicer

BTW the guy in your video has lots of fruit and veg growing videos. He even has one of Benders Grove in Davie (one of our nursery members)
http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens

LEOOEL

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #58 on: September 06, 2014, 02:55:41 AM »
I get what seems to me, tons of carambola fruit from my 'Arkin' Carambola variety tree; more than I know what to do with. So, I'm coming to the conclusion that a high quality juicer and a productive Carambola variety, go hand in hand.

This Breville BJE820XL looks like a knight in shining armor; Is it stainless steel? And, at 13,000 rpm's, if it doesn't do cut pieces of sugar-cane, probably nothing will. I guess it's like having a jet engine inside your juicer. It's a nice touch that it has 5 speed settings, for those times when you don't need all that power for soft fruits like bananas... And, it only has 4 parts to clean, so that's a big plus and incentive, to use it every day.

Video:

Breville BJE820XL Dual-Disk Juicer

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PurpleAlligator

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #59 on: September 06, 2014, 08:04:53 AM »
The Omega Vert is a much better juicer, but a little more expensive.  Totally worth the extra cost in my opinion.

http://youtu.be/2q50XbF0Db0

Try juicing watermelon rind quickly with that low RPM vert juicer. I have lo-RPM juicers and know what the deal is. I don't believe all the propaganda (I used to) about high RPM destroying enzymes and over heating juices. Especially when the produce is refrigerated so you juice it when cold. I have a juice press and I can still squeeze more juice from the pulp after juicing with my low RPM twin gear juicer

BTW the guy in your video has lots of fruit and veg growing videos. He even has one of Benders Grove in Davie (one of our nursery members)
http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens

I think people should use the juicer that works best for them.  Any juicer is better than no juicer.  :D  I put this out as an example of what I use.  I have the Omega vert and a Breville high speed juicer.  I use the Omega 90% of the time.  For a quick carrot or celery juice the Breville is great.  But if I'm juicing greens the Omega is a must.  The press is obviously the best, but not as convenient as a machine.  Last January I did a 1 month juice fast and used the Omega exclusively.  And, I can juice a watermelon very fast in it.  The pieces just need to be cut a little smaller to fit the mouth of the Omega.  But I've gotten very fast over the years at prepping fruits and veggies for juicing.

zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #60 on: September 06, 2014, 10:16:59 AM »

I think people should use the juicer that works best for them.  Any juicer is better than no juicer.  :D  I put this out as an example of what I use.  I have the Omega vert and a Breville high speed juicer.  I use the Omega 90% of the time.  For a quick carrot or celery juice the Breville is great.  But if I'm juicing greens the Omega is a must.  The press is obviously the best, but not as convenient as a machine.  Last January I did a 1 month juice fast and used the Omega exclusively.  And, I can juice a watermelon very fast in it.  The pieces just need to be cut a little smaller to fit the mouth of the Omega.  But I've gotten very fast over the years at prepping fruits and veggies for juicing.

Yes lo-RPM will juice wheat grass and greens and a Breville will not. A Breville will juice celery just fine and this is the most common green that  people juice.  Juicing watermelon rinds with my lo-RPM Greenstar took too long and I still had to press out the pulp. So now I use the Brevill and then press the pulp in my homemade press.

Your Omega Vertical is the latest so maybe it goes through carrots and watermelon rinds quicker than my green star

So how did you break your long fast? I think watermelon is the best way to reintroduce solid food. Then raw vegetables/salads...Then.....

zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #61 on: September 06, 2014, 10:25:32 AM »
I get what seems to me, tons of carambola fruit from my 'Arkin' Carambola variety tree; more than I know what to do with. So, I'm coming to the conclusion that a high quality juicer and a productive Carambola variety, go hand in hand.

This Breville BJE820XL looks like a knight in shining armor; Is it stainless steel? And, at 13,000 rpm's, if it doesn't do cut pieces of sugar-cane, probably nothing will. I guess it's like having a jet engine inside your juicer. It's a nice touch that it has 5 speed settings, for those times when you don't need all that power for soft fruits like bananas... And, it only has 4 parts to clean, so that's a big plus and incentive, to use it every day.

Video:

Breville BJE820XL Dual-Disk Juicer

That might be their top of the line model.  One caution on all the Brevills. The pulp is wet. My opinion it is a must to press the rest of the juice out of the pulp. If you don't want to do this then a low RPM juicer will give you a much drier pulp.

But if your are mostly juicing your own surplus carambola that are "free" to you then a wet pulp is not a factor. But when buying produce you want to get your money's worth out of what you are juicing so a wet pulp is a waste of money

Seems some vertical juicers are for sale on craigs list  http://miami.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=vertical%20juicer&sort=rel

zzzzzzz

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #62 on: September 06, 2014, 06:46:16 PM »

[/quote]

Yes lo-RPM will juice wheat grass and greens and a Breville will not. A Breville will juice celery just fine and this is the most common green that  people juice.  Juicing watermelon rinds with my lo-RPM Greenstar took too long and I still had to press out the pulp. So now I use the Brevill and then press the pulp in my homemade press.

Your Omega Vertical is the latest so maybe it goes through carrots and watermelon rinds quicker than my green star

So how did you break your long fast? I think watermelon is the best way to reintroduce solid food. Then raw vegetables/salads...Then.....
[/quote]

The vert has no problem with carrots at all and gets a very high yield.  Pulp on everything comes out pretty dry.  The vert only has problems with fibrous veggies like celery unless you chop it.  Otherwise the pulp ejector gets clogged with the long fibers.

I broke it with melons, oranges, and salad.  It wasn't as big a deal as if it was a water fast.  It was much harder entering the fast as detoxing from caffeine and the general detox process gave me some headaches during the first week.  By the 3rd and 4th week I felt amazing and likely could have gone longer but psychologically I was ready to eat solid food.  I initially lost 1lb per day and it leveled off at .5 lb per day loss.  I'm going to do it again next January. 

zands

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #63 on: September 07, 2014, 07:58:12 AM »
The vert has no problem with carrots at all and gets a very high yield.  Pulp on everything comes out pretty dry.  The vert only has problems with fibrous veggies like celery unless you chop it.  Otherwise the pulp ejector gets clogged with the long fibers.

I broke it with melons, oranges, and salad.  It wasn't as big a deal as if it was a water fast.  It was much harder entering the fast as detoxing from caffeine and the general detox process gave me some headaches during the first week.  By the 3rd and 4th week I felt amazing and likely could have gone longer but psychologically I was ready to eat solid food.  I initially lost 1lb per day and it leveled off at .5 lb per day loss.  I'm going to do it again next January.

Water fast is bad idea unless you do it as part of a juice fast. Meaning you do a 5 day water fast then 10 days juice fast to break the water fast. Then you break the juice fast in a way that works for you.

So one possible way is:
  • 3 days juices to ease into >>>
  • 5 days water
  • 10 days juices
  • break fast
I did 3 days water a few years ago. I took a large teaspoon of coral calcium powder dissolved in water each day. Dolomite powder will do just as well and costs a lot less


I know no one gives a sh__ and they will do what they will do but the only healthful way to drink coffee is black and on an empty stomach. It will have a de-tox and liver cleanse effect. A little molasses is OK. When I am drinking it, (which I am not these days) it is prepared by simmering a few minutes and straining. But better is to soak overnight and simmer in the morning. Coffee drinking is hilariously fetishized today.

LEOOEL

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #64 on: September 12, 2014, 12:05:40 AM »
To me the Breville BJE820XL juicer is an engineering marvel, with only four parts for easing cleaning to boot! If I had to choose only one juicer, I'd probably choose this one. I agree with Zands that the best solution would be to have two juicers; this juicer and one that uses the squeezing technology.

My favorite choice for juicing fruit like Carambola... would be a squeezing-tech-juicer. But, I don't like any of the ones that I've encountered so far, they all just appear to be all plastic and fragile. I really wish someone or some company, like 'Dyson' (who just came out with a '3D-Vison Robot' that can clean your house), would come up with a heavy duty squeezing-tech-juicer that is also easy to clean, would easily process/squeeze fruit like Carambola... and 'sugar-cane.' I think a  juicer like that would be a commercial hit.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2014, 12:15:12 AM by LEOOEL »
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Kapiak

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #65 on: September 19, 2014, 07:49:29 AM »
The best Carambola breedings are now coming out of Taiwan, the Taitung Honey is very sweet & productive.  I got to get my ass out & find a space in my Garden for them.  I cut down my bell, kari and kwantung to make room.  Hopefully they flower next year so I will have recalcitrant seeds for their monthlong journey to you; did the Papua New Guinea Postal Office stole the Annona seeds I have send to you more than a month ago Nathalie? ???

Jack, the seeds weren't stolen this time! So I am very excited to "soon" be able to enjoy your amazing work on those delicious Annonas.

That Taitung Honey carambola sounds delicious, so I won't say no thanks to seeds of that next year! Let me know and I'll happily chop down my awfully sour carambola tree.  ;D

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #66 on: November 14, 2014, 01:56:08 AM »
Here in New Guinea I can't even eat carambolas out of hand. You say "it's sweet"... Carambolas here are NOT sweet at all, even when fully ripe :( But I do remember nice sweet Carambolas in.. where was it now...? Thailand?

So, are sweet carambolas good to plant seeds from, ie. would the sweetness generally be inherited or is it a very tricky business like planting avocado seeds?

Can't wait to have my own carambola smoothie and dried carambolas after reading all those nice recipes here ;)

Will chop down my tree, if I can get a sweet strain.

Nathalie, the ancestors of carambola were all sour types. All modern cultivars are now sweet. Yes the sweet trait is retained by planting from seed. You can't hardly find any of the old sour type carambola trees. Seems they have all been cut down here.
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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #67 on: November 14, 2014, 02:00:51 AM »
I'm harvesting a lot of carambola now and juicing some.  I use the Omega Vert juicer and is one of the best out there.  I've been using it for 4 years now.  It gets a high yield, leaving very dry pulp.  It's very quiet, low speed, with a single auger and basket to grind and press the juice.  It's great for fruit, leafy greens, roots or anything else.  It will even handle wheat grass.  It's easy to clean also.  I can clean it in a couple minutes.  Being low speed, it does minimal damage to the produce being juiced with almost no oxidation.

It's not good with pulpy fruits like mango or pineapple, but neither was my high speed centrifugal juicer.  Celery needs to be cut into smaller bits to avoid clogging the pulp ejector with the fibers.

I appreciate the tip about trimming the green edges off carambola.  It was news to me.

Here's a link to the juicer if anyone is interested.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=omega+vrt+350hd+juicer&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=34433817008&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9302718754028246740&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_2xgm5upqa9_b

I've always been fascinated by the videos of professional quality fruit/vegetable juicers that can squeeze the juice out of fruits/vegetables that I never thought was readily possible, like carrots... and then, the juice comes pouring out one side and the fibery part(s) come out the other, with no need to strain the juice.

Come to think of it, this could come in really handy for getting the juice out of Carambola fruit too. I think I'm now back in the market for the best professional fruit juicer; although I'm not too fond of the fact that it'll probably be expensive too. But, perhaps, it may be worth it as far as enjoying the taste of freshly squeezed fruit juice, and also for the health benefits. And, if it will also provide juice from cut chunks of sugar cane, and I don't see why not, then that is certainly a plus.

Separation of pulp from juice by juicers has been possible for a very long time. One of the best old time juicers is the Champion. You can still pick up a used one for around $75 or so. Their motors seem to last practically a lifetime. I just got about 1.5 gallons of carambola juice from a lug box full i picked using a Champion.
You can't juice sugar cane in any regular type juicer...unless you want to ruin it. Sugar cane needs to pressed first and then squeezed. Best to get a machine specially designed just to do sugar cane.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2014, 02:03:36 AM by fruitlovers »
Oscar

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #68 on: December 08, 2014, 09:12:06 PM »
Finally got a juicer to juice all the Carambola fruit that my two trees are full of.

I got the Breville BJE829XL Juice Fountain Duo Juicer. After weeks of research, I had been postponing the purchase because of the $400 cost. But, when I came upon a huge bag of organic carrots (at a good price), at my local big box supermarket, I couldn't take it anymore and had to get one.

I called several places near my location and the first 2-3 were to my surprise sold out. The 3rd-4th call, I was told by the store rep that they had two left at $400 each. Sure enough, when I got to the store, the price tag confirmed the price I was told over the phone.

When I got to the cash drawer to pay for the juicer, the gentleman in front of me had several store coupons and was gracious enough to let me have one of them. He made sure to tell me not to break the chain, in other words, he helped me and I should pass it along and help others. I told him that I try to make it a habit to do so all the time - the thought passed through my mind, 'is this God'? (I digress). To make a long story short, I ended up paying about half the amount on the price tag, needless to say I was very glad about that; the store most probably also had a special price discount going because of the holiday season.

I plan to juice some Carambolas this week, and boy this thing sure can juice carrots.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 07:11:01 PM by LEOOEL »
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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #69 on: December 09, 2014, 06:49:14 AM »
Breville is  a good brand, made in Australia. I have a Breville citrus juicer and really love it.
Oscar

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #70 on: December 09, 2014, 09:02:48 AM »
Finally got a juicer to juice all the Carambola fruit that my two trees are full of.

I got the Breville Juice Fountain Duo Juicer. After weeks of research, I had been postponing the purchase because of the $400 cost. But, when I came upon a huge bag of organic carrots (at a good price), at my local big box supermarket, I couldn't take it anymore and had to get one.

I called several places near my location and the first 2-3 were to my surprise sold out. The 3rd-4th call, I was told by the store rep that they had two left at $400 each. Sure enough, when I got to the store, the price tag confirmed the price I was told over the phone.

When I got to the cash drawer to pay for the juicer, the gentleman in front of me had several store coupons and was gracious enough to let me have one of them. He made sure to tell me not to break the chain, in other words, he helped me and I should pass it along and help others. I told him that I try to make it a habit to do so all the time - the thought passed through my mind, 'is this God'? (I digress). To make a long story short, I ended up paying about half the amount on the price tag, needless to say I was very glad about that; the store most probably also had a special price discount going because of the holiday season.

I plan to juice some Carambolas this week, and boy this thing sure can juice carrots.

If you want carrot + carambola juice then alternate juicing pieces of each. Carrots are hard and help get the juice out of softer fruit even apples. A piece of thumb size ginger is good. Finally, you need a juice press like I made to get the last juice out of the pulp. But less of a factor if you have tons of your own carambola....meaning free! But from organic and store bought fruits and veggies I am going to extract the last bit of juice from them

fruitlovers

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #71 on: December 09, 2014, 06:39:00 PM »
Finally got a juicer to juice all the Carambola fruit that my two trees are full of.

I got the Breville Juice Fountain Duo Juicer. After weeks of research, I had been postponing the purchase because of the $400 cost. But, when I came upon a huge bag of organic carrots (at a good price), at my local big box supermarket, I couldn't take it anymore and had to get one.

I called several places near my location and the first 2-3 were to my surprise sold out. The 3rd-4th call, I was told by the store rep that they had two left at $400 each. Sure enough, when I got to the store, the price tag confirmed the price I was told over the phone.

When I got to the cash drawer to pay for the juicer, the gentleman in front of me had several store coupons and was gracious enough to let me have one of them. He made sure to tell me not to break the chain, in other words, he helped me and I should pass it along and help others. I told him that I try to make it a habit to do so all the time - the thought passed through my mind, 'is this God'? (I digress). To make a long story short, I ended up paying about half the amount on the price tag, needless to say I was very glad about that; the store most probably also had a special price discount going because of the holiday season.

I plan to juice some Carambolas this week, and boy this thing sure can juice carrots.

If you want carrot + carambola juice then alternate juicing pieces of each. Carrots are hard and help get the juice out of softer fruit even apples. A piece of thumb size ginger is good. Finally, you need a juice press like I made to get the last juice out of the pulp. But less of a factor if you have tons of your own carambola....meaning free! But from organic and store bought fruits and veggies I am going to extract the last bit of juice from them

I find carambola juice very similar to orange juice, so carambola juice would be good mixed together with carrot juice, just like orange juice + carrot juice is good. I also mix carambola juice with orange juice.
Oscar

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #72 on: December 09, 2014, 07:22:11 PM »
An excellent juice / smoothie carambola is the golden star. Very flavorful and enough tart to balance out the sweeter fruits. Cas guava and jaboticaba (with skin) are also great for adding tart and full bodied flavor.

I don't know about the current generation of juicers, but the one I got about a decade ago would discard most of the fiber, and the fiber is extremely important. Not only does the fiber keep one feeling satiated longer, it also reduces the glycemic load -- which has recently been linked with heart disease (via inflammation).

These days I use a vitamix. It pulverizes anything I throw in it, seeds, skin and all.
Jeff  :-)

LEOOEL

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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #73 on: December 10, 2014, 07:39:13 PM »
I can't wait to try the great juicing recipes that you guys are suggesting, 'thanx' for doing so. Carambola plus carrots are a great combination. Plus, I'll also be throwing in a bit of ginger as Zands reminded.

It's good to know that my decision to purchase this Breville juicer is reinforced by the fact that Oscar also has one.

The Jaboticaba tree that I got from Adam is not producing yet. So, Jeff's idea of juicing them will have to wait. But, my three Muscadine grape trees consistently produce an overabundance of grapes yearly. I can't wait to try out Jeff's idea of throwing them into the juicer with the skin and flesh, although I'll have to make sure that juicing Muscadine skin will not be toxic to consume. Removing the seeds will be somewhat of a chore, but I think I'll manage.

This Breville BJE820XL Juice Fountain Duo Juicer also does smoothies (hence the "...Duo..." in the name). So, it will do double duty on all types of fruits and veggies. Once the fruit has been prepared, it's 'kinda' fun to see all the juice pour out one end and the fiber out the other.

As soon as I find a healthy/tasty recipe(s) that I can use with all of the produced fiber, I'll start doing it, especially the produced organic carrot fiber.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2014, 10:31:15 PM by LEOOEL »
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Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« Reply #74 on: December 10, 2014, 10:31:27 PM »
LEOOEL----
I can't say if its just my local Walmart but I have seen organic carrots there 96 cents per one lb bag. The bags must be forced by law to be one lb or over because if you buy 5 lbs the weight is 5.75 lb or more

Whole foods had 5lb bags for $5 when I was there last week. Great juice combo is carrot-apple-ginger. For more spice a piece of jalapeno.