Star Fruit/ Balimbing

Star Fruit or Carambola,(I call it Balimbing), is becoming increasingly popular among the population especially here in Hawaii. A growing number of people find it not only refreshing to eat but also have healthy benefits like anti-oxidants and Vitamin C. It is mostly used as garnish for drinks because of the star shape of the fruit when you slice them, hence the name starfruit.
I took this picture in the garden. Most of the Chinese gardeners have them in their garden. It must have some kind of medicinal value to them.
But to me it is one of those fruits that are refreshing to eat especially during the summer months. You have to select fruits that are yellow and firm. You can eat the entire fruit, no need to peel the skin. It would be a bit sour and sweet at the same time and the taste, it is hard to describe, sour apples when green, apples or pear when ripe with a tang like a citrus. You have to try it to decide.

Similar Posts

  • Soursop/Guyabano

    Soursop or guyabano as we call it in the Philippines is gaining popularity as a health fruit and a natural medicine against cancer.  Whether it is true or not, soursop or guyabano is an interesting fruit to eat.  The skin looks like it would hurt you when you touch it but the spikes you see…

  • |

    Jackfruit

    We call the jackfruit “langka” in the Philippines.  I consider it as the biggest fruit ever.  When I was young, we  nicknamed it “hog” because sometimes it grows as big as a pig.   I remember my grandma’s jackfruit tree in the farm and the fruit almost touches the ground.  I also remember eating the fruits…

  • Guava

    Guava is a popular fruit in the Philippines but it is seasonal. During rainy season that’s when it is most abundant. There are several varieties of guava that is native to the Philippines that I know of but the guava java which is an import variety from Indonesia hence the name, became the most popular….

  • Atemoya/Cherimoya

    Atemoya is a hybrid of two types of annona fruits which are sugar apple and the cherimoya.  The sugar apple is what we refer to in the Philippines as “atis” the word I believe came from the old Mexican word “Ate” which refers to sugar apple.  The crossing of these two types of  Annona fruits…

  • Mangoes from my hometown

    I was born in Iba, Zambales, Philippines and during the summer time when I was growing up, we always enjoy eating mangoes coming from my grandparents farm. They have quite a number of mango trees and different varieties too. We have the big one we call “dinamulag” which literally means ‘like carabao’ because it is…