The Curious Case of the Carambola

I’ve actually never heard anyone refer to this fruit as Carambola. The cross section of the fruit is so striking that it’s no wonder that starfruit is the more popular name. These trees are native to South East Asia and are commonly grown in various tropical regions around the world. Including my backyard. 

We have a few fruit trees planted around my house but the starfruit trees were the first to bear fruit. And bear fruit they did. (just for reference, a full grown tree can produce around 160kg of fruit) Technically, the two (proper) seasons are January through February and September through October, however the plant provides fruit year round in India.

Sure we were super excited when we saw the first few carambolas prop up on the trees, but it’s been a disappointing journey ever since. While it is pretty to look at, there’s not much going on in the flavour department. Which explains why it’s not as popular. The other reason you don’t usually see Carambolas in stores is because of its incredibly short shelf life. Not only is it a low demand fruit, there are also several shipping risks involved in transporting it.The fruit bruises quickly, which means that it needs to be packed and shipped carefully. During season time, they’re much more likely to be sold roadside in the south than in supermarkets.

Due to the short shelf life, the fruit is often plucked when it’s 50- 70% ripe, still a little green. Plucking them at this stage, when they’re still lime green, results in fruits that are not as sweet. They do still change colour after being plucked but the fruit does not get sweeter. The best time to harvest is when the fruit is yellow with brown ridges. This has proven to be slightly difficult for us as the moment the fruits ripen, they’re pecked at by birds and fall to the ground. 

The taste? It’s a cross between pears, apples, grapes and a citrus fruit. Ripe carambolas are slightly sweet and sour while the unripe carambolas taste a lot like green apples. 

It’s not awful, but it is pretty under whelming. Since we have two trees and plenty of fruit, we use them up by making a juice. Little bit of ginger, little cardamom, a little salt or sugar and it’s not that bad.

I had this little joke about starfruit being the one fruit in my garden that my hungry-AF Labrador WON’T eat. Rocky, much like his human friends, is obsessed with food. Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, junk food, waste straight from the garbage, you name it, he’s had it. And loves it. 

While we definitely discourage the garbage eating, we do let him chomp down on some of our fresh fruits and veg. There are very few things this dog does not eat – starfruit being one of the few. I thought it would be hilarious to film this rare occurrence, and then I did a bit of research and bottom line is DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG STARFRUIT. 

I highly doubt this is going to be a problem for a lot of pet owners out there but as much as half a starfruit can cause a storm of issues for them. I got incredibly lucky that my little theetapandaram just happened to not like it. 

As little as half a starfruit can make your dog sick. The soluble calcium oxalate in the fruit can cause kidney damage. Can dogs tell if something is bad for them? I highly doubt that because my dog goes mental when I’ve got some chocolate on me. But I am incredibly lucky that he doesn’t eat starfruit!

It’s not just dogs though. People with kidney diseases, kidney stones or reduced kidney function are unable to filter out the neurotoxin, caramboxin, which is present in carambolas. Regular consumption of the juice may lead to further kidney damage.  Eating the fruit or drinking starfruit juice on an empty stomach is not recommended for those with healthy kidney function as well. I’ve heard a ton of people in Kerala talk about how starfruit is great for diabetics because it helps control your blood sugar levels. My dad used to drink about a litre of starfruit juice everyday during season time and since it didn’t taste particularly nice, everyone assumed it was great for you. (Because tasty can never mean healthy, right?) First- juices are never good for diabetics. You miss out on the most beneficial part of it – the fibre, especially if you strain the juice. Moreover, as mentioned above, starfruit is not good for your kidneys and diabetes is a major risk factor for kidney disease. Read more about starfruit nephrotoxicity and diabetes here.

So we skipped the juice and cut down one of our two trees. While I am sad to see any tree go, it was necessary and the spot has been occupied by a small jackfruit tree now!

Time for the recap. 

Carambolas are more popular by the name Starfruit. They’re visually stunning fruit that don’t live up to the hype in terms of taste. They have a short shelf life, they bruise easily, and they can be harmful to some of us. 

It’s the influence-star of fruits. (sorry, not sorry)