Sweetest Carambola Variety

[Max Keith]

As the title says, I am looking for the sweetest Carambola variety. I am not much of a fan of tart or acid flavors. Once at a farmers market in central Florida, I had a very small long star fruit (like an oval about 4 inches long and 1 to 2 inches across) the color was a very dark yellow and I thought it was amazing, but the seller never came back and I could never find the fruit again.

[johnb51]

Sri Kembangan gets pretty sweet.

[Galatians522]

Your description seems to match Sri Kembangan. It has short ridges and gets a darker orange color when fully ripe. It will get much bigger than what you described. Fwang Tung is also highly rated, but it is lighter in color with tall ridges.

[Pan Dulce]

Hart

[zands]

Let all Carambolas get past ripe. The best ones are the drops. Also peel off/ slice off all the green ridges and ends. They are the most astringent parts

[gnappi]

I have a Kajang (heavy producer) and Kari (shy bearer) and I had and removed a Bell because it was underwhelming. If left on the tree  to ripen fully the Kajang is the best of the three.

[sumognat]

I have the Sri Kembangan variety and it is very sweet and juicy with no tartness when eaten very ripe.  You will know it's very ripe when it smells very fruity and floral, and the fruit will be slightly soft to the touch.  If you eat it before this time, I found the taste to be underwhelming.  I haven't tried any other tree-ripened varieties, so can offer no comparison.

[roblack]

Kari is a great, nearly nonstop producer for us. One of the easiest trees I've grown, dont do anything to it. Beautiful tree. As stated, the very ripe orange fruits are quite sweet. I like them at this stage, as well as earlier when they are less sweet and quite refreshing.

[Julie]

Does Sri Kembangan produce fruit mostly during the winter season?  I'm looking for a starfruit that is sweet and has a lot of juice & very hydrating, but also produces during winter because I already have other fruit during the summer.  Is Sri K better than Fwang Tung and Kari?

[Julie]

I'm leaning to Sri K. but can anyone confirm that it's also juicer/more hydrating than Kari & Fwang Tung?  Which of these starfruits produces in the winter?  Thank you

[kapps]

Fwang Tung and Sri Kembangan have very different flavors. Both good. Sri Kembangan is more of the “typical” sweet carambola orange-y flavor. Fwang Tung is much more sweet lemon-y flavored. Fwang Tung is my favorite but I have both trees in my yard. They are both juicy and Fwang Tung gives a bigger fruit.

[Julie]

What months do the fruit ripen in your yard?  I'm looking for something that is a winter bearing fruit.

[sumognat]

My SK was planted maybe a couple of years ago from a tall 3g.  It had had its best crop this year (in terms of number of fruit) and I think I was harvesting around February/March.

[Julie]

OK great, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

Is there any health risk to eating a lot of carambola at one time?  If I had a tree, I'd be eating a lot.  Is this a problem b/c of the oxalates, etc.?

[sumognat]

I can't answer that, I don't have any health issues, but I ate them in moderation (and always cut the green ribs off, which is where the most oxalates are). 

I think my favorite use for the carambolas (so far) is juicing.  I processed a lot of the fruit with my Vitamix, some ice, a piece of fresh ginger, and some lemon/lemon crystals (True Lemon).  Drain the liquid through a sieve to remove pulp/fiber.
 It takes a lot of fruit to make a decent amount of juice, but it helps solve the "what am I going to do with all this carambola?" conundrum. 

[Julie]

Thank you for the tips and information! Appreciate your help!

[Central Floridave]

I have the Kari and Sri K. and both are sweet. But, I didn't see mentioned the 'Bell' Variety. In my opinion the Bell is the best. It is a very large fruit and sweet.  I'd recommend that out of all of them. 

[gnappi]

What months do the fruit ripen in your yard?  I'm looking for something that is a winter bearing fruit.

My Kajang gave me fruit all winter through February.

[Julie]

I have the Kari and Sri K. and both are sweet. But, I didn't see mentioned the 'Bell' Variety. In my opinion the Bell is the best. It is a very large fruit and sweet.  I'd recommend that out of all of them.

Thank you!

[Mike T]

I would say Fwang Tung at second place and Thai/Siam Giant in first place