Food Challenge: Star Fruit

Star Fruit is quite a familiar ingredient in Asian cuisine, but yet I’ve never actually tried one myself. Although it has a pretty appearance, I always had the impression that it would not taste good. To prove whether my bias had always been true (or false), I bought one this week and finally tried one.

After I bought the star fruit home, I was stuck on how to prepare it. Luckily, I found a great guide online (the best thing is that it uses diagrams to show you how to cut it up).

When I sliced the fruit into pieces, a nice tropical, fruity aroma hit me immediately. It was a very pleasant fragrance and it really tickled my appetite. So after arranging the slices onto a big plate and taking some lovely shots of its characteristic star shape (so pretty!), I finally bite into one.

It turned out to be very different from what I had expected. The flesh was juicy and soft, and the taste was mildly sweet with a slightly sour aftertaste. The aftertaste was very strong, and it lingered in my mouth for quite awhile.

Overall, I think the star fruit’s flavour is very refreshing, sweet and sour at the same time, but the distinctive aroma that lingers in the mouth can become too overwhelming after having a few bites. Hence, depending on if you enjoy the aroma or not, you’ll either love this fruit or hate it. Personally, I think the first few slices tasted very clean and refreshing, but I would stick to only having a small amount each time for the greatest eating pleasure.

I think having a couple pieces of this fruit can be a very delicious and healthy way to end a heavy meal, since the mild sweet and sour taste will cleanse the palate and leave you feeling less weighted-down and a bit more rejuvenated.

Give this fruit a try and let me know if you like it or not!