Starfruit flavor

[Acoalwell]

Hey everyone! Newbie to the tropical fruit world. I've only ever tried Starfruit once, from my local WV grocery store. I wasn't a fan, I didn't think the flavor was all that good and it was very seedy. How much better are Starfruit when you get them fresh and local vs grocery store in a non-tropical area? Is there a large diversity in flavor between the varieties?

[achetadomestica]

Starfruit has a distinct taste. I have a grafted tree that never had a tag so I am not sure
what kind it is. When the fruit gets orange it is very sweet. I prefer to eat them when the
wings are still green and there is a little bit of acid with the sweetness. If you have a large
tree they produce tons of fruit twice a year. I found if you cut the fruit in slices and dehydrate
it, it is wonderful. My guess is the fruit you purchased at the store was picked very unripe to
eventually make it's way to you. Ripe starfuit only last a couple days.

[Acoalwell]

That's what I was thinking, it's good to know that they have a better flavor when tree ripened. I assumed with most fruits that's true, just wanted to know for possible future endeavors growing it.

[johnb51]

There's absolutely no comparison between a tree-ripened starfruit from your own tree and what you would find in a supermarket.  Fresh, tree-ripened starfruit is crisp, juicy, sweet, and flavorful with a slight astringency.  The seeds are so edible that you barely notice them.  When they're perfectly ripe, you have to handle them very carefully as they bruise easily.  What you find in a supermarket is picked very underripe and is virtually worthless.  Think of a pineapple that is picked very green and when you think it's ready to eat it's not even sweet.  The difference is similar.  One starfruit tree produces enough fruit for the extended family, all your friends, and the entire neighborhood!  I must have picked 150 lbs. from one little tree last year.  Sri Kembangan is a stellar variety.

[Acoalwell]

That sounds amazing! Do they do well in containers?

[skhan]

While Starfruit might not be a flavor explosion the ones in the stores certainly don't do the fruit justice.
I had a chance to taste a tree-ripened Arkin starfruit (the main commercial variety) from a generous forum member and I found even at its prime it is not near a Kari starfruit.

They will even give you a lot of fruit in a container

[Mike T]

Green ones have a bit too much oleic acid and even some ripe ones have a bit along the wing edges. There are sour types that are like eating bilimbis even when bright yellow/orange. I quite like variety fwang tung but thai/siam giant is my favourite and one of the sweetest.

[pineislander]

The largest Carambola/Starfruit grower in the US, Brooks Tropicals, has 4 plots in my area ~10 acres each. One plot is 1/4 mile down the road from me. They pick several truckloads each day in season from the plot. They only pick unripe because ripe ones are far too soft to ship. So, you'll almost never get a ripe one in US groceries. When the fruit gets too far along in the season they all end up ripe & cannot pick them anymore. At that point they drop all the fruit on the ground and prune back hard to prep for the next crop.

[johnb51]

The largest Carambola/Starfruit grower in the US, Brooks Tropicals, has 4 plots in my area ~10 acres each. One plot is 1/4 mile down the road from me. They pick several truckloads each day in season from the plot. They only pick unripe because ripe ones are far too soft to ship. So, you'll almost never get a ripe one in US groceries. When the fruit gets too far along in the season they all end up ripe & cannot pick them anymore. At that point they drop all the fruit on the ground and prune back hard to prep for the next crop.

And that's why they taste like crap!  (The grove looks real nice though.)

[fruitlovers]

Green ones have a bit too much oleic acid and even some ripe ones have a bit along the wing edges. There are sour types that are like eating bilimbis even when bright yellow/orange. I quite like variety fwang tung but thai/siam giant is my favourite and one of the sweetest.

The starfruits i've seen in stores in California were completely green. I would consider them completely inedible. Yes i think the tests that are done for oxalic acids are from those totally green fruits. And that's why a lot of people think they are dangerous to eat!
But i don't know why the original poster said they are too seedy? Starfruits have very few seeds, and they are tiny, and usually you don't even notice them when eating the fruits.

[Mike T]

Yes I meant oxalic acid and I have never had a seedy starfruit either. Most are close to seedless.

[Acoalwell]

Green ones have a bit too much oleic acid and even some ripe ones have a bit along the wing edges. There are sour types that are like eating bilimbis even when bright yellow/orange. I quite like variety fwang tung but thai/siam giant is my favourite and one of the sweetest.

The starfruits i've seen in stores in California were completely green. I would consider them completely inedible. Yes i think the tests that are done for oxalic acids are from those totally green fruits. And that's why a lot of people think they are dangerous to eat!
But i don't know why the original poster said they are too seedy? Starfruits have very few seeds, and they are tiny, and usually you don't even notice them when eating the fruits.

The one I bought last year from my grocery store was very, very seedy. I don't have pictures, but there were enough seeds that it made it a pain to try and eat the fruit. Maybe that was a fluke, I'm not sure, but that's how I remember it. Poor taste and very seedy.

[fruitlovers]

Green ones have a bit too much oleic acid and even some ripe ones have a bit along the wing edges. There are sour types that are like eating bilimbis even when bright yellow/orange. I quite like variety fwang tung but thai/siam giant is my favourite and one of the sweetest.

The starfruits i've seen in stores in California were completely green. I would consider them completely inedible. Yes i think the tests that are done for oxalic acids are from those totally green fruits. And that's why a lot of people think they are dangerous to eat!
But i don't know why the original poster said they are too seedy? Starfruits have very few seeds, and they are tiny, and usually you don't even notice them when eating the fruits.

The one I bought last year from my grocery store was very, very seedy. I don't have pictures, but there were enough seeds that it made it a pain to try and eat the fruit. Maybe that was a fluke, I'm not sure, but that's how I remember it. Poor taste and very seedy.

It sounds to me like what you ate was not a starfruit. I've never seen a starfruit with lots of seeds, and anyway the seeds are small and unnoticeable.