How to Eat Star Fruit

Are you planning to add a star fruit to your diet? Do you want to know the benefits? You can add the star fruit to your diet since it offers many health benefits. Also, you can eat it the way you want. You can eat the slices or prepare a cocktail as well. You can make a juice or add it to your pickle. If you like this fruit, you can try a lot of variations. More importantly, you can get many health benefits. Yes, star fruits are rich in antioxidants and can enable you to fight many health issues naturally. However, if you have kidney disease, you will have to stay away from the star fruit.

 

In this article, we will answer all your queries. You will know how to eat, how to cut, and the health benefits. After going through this article, you can confidently add it to your diet.

How to Eat Star Fruit

Star fruits have a tangy and sweet flavor. Therefore, you can eat them in many ways. You can eat slices or add them to your juices or dishes. Also, you will love to have star shapes in your salad. Here are a few ways to add star fruits to your diet.

Include It in Fruit Salad

Star fruit can be a healthy salad. You can toss slices with other fruits to enjoy the sweet-and-sour flavor and colorful salad. It will pair well with kiwi, mango, strawberry, pineapple, grapes, papaya, and any citrus fruit. Prepare the salad and toss it with honey, orange glaze, lemon vinaigrette, or any of your favorite syrups to add flavor to it. Also, you can use shredded coconut for garnishing.

Add It to Your Leafy Salad

If you do not want tropical fruits salad, you can use leafy greens. However, you can add a star fruit. This simple addition will make a difference in the taste. Also, you will get some health benefits. You can use it with sweet bell pepper, chives, lettuce, and avocado. However, you will have to avoid adding carrots, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, and traditional garden ingredients. For the dressing, you can use a light vinaigrette. You can consider Italian, balsamic, lemon, or raspberry vinaigrette. If you want, you can also use Tangy French dressings. These dressings will complement the flavor.

 

Use It as Garnish

Yes, star fruit can decorate your dishes. You can use it as garnish. You can decorate your plates and dishes with sliced stars. You can use it as the topping of tropical ice-creams or cakes. You can decorate teriyaki-marinated chicken with these star-shaped slices as well. Take a small piece and hang it on the side of your cocktail glass.

 

Mix It in Cakes

You can also add it to your bread or cake. You will have to use mashed or sliced fruits for the cake. Take two cups of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Also, prepare a creamed mixture with 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups mashed fruit, and 1 tsp white wine. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder with the creamed mixture and add 1 cup chopped coconut. After mixing all these, you will have to cook it for fifty minutes in a standard loaf pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Eat It in Seafood and Poultry Dishes

You can also use it in seafood and poultry dishes. Yes, the flavor will go well with duck, chicken, and many seafood types. After preparing your food, you can add the star slices. You will love the flavor. Besides, you can add star fruits to the tuna salad, chicken salad, or lobster salad.

 

Eat as Tropical Smoothie

You can prepare a tropical smoothie by mixing star fruit and other tropical fruits. You can have a healthy and thick juice. For the smoothie, you will need 1 diced mango, 3 seeded star fruit, 2 cups ice cubes, 3 cups orange juice, 1 tbsp honey, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Also, you can add chunks of strawberry, banana, and pineapple to the smoothie.

 

Create a Star Fruit Cocktail

You can make your favorite star fruit cocktail. You will need pureed star fruit, rum, and fruit liqueur. Get 1/2 cup rum, 1 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup orange liqueur. You will need many ice cubes. Blend all these ingredients and garnish the mix with star fruit slices.

 

Also, you can cook the slices with other tropical fruit juices and sugar. You will have to use larger pieces to make chutney and small ones to prepare a jam. In addition to all these, you can add them to your pickle, dips, jelly, pies, and puddings. Besides, you can use it to clean rusted utensils. However, you will have to eat fresh star fruits. Get it fresh and rinse under running water. Washing will remove all the contaminants.

 

Picking the Right Star Fruit

You will have to consume ripe star fruits. Yes, unripe fruits will taste excessively sour or even bitter. The ripe fruits will look yellow with green or brown edges. They will have vibrant yellow skin. More vibrant means the fruit will be sweeter. You will have to pick star fruits with lively yellow skin and brown edges. A medium-sized fruit will have twenty-eight calories, vitamin C, fiber, water, and carbohydrates.

 

If you do not find ripe star fruits, you can buy green options. However, you will have to wait for a few days. Within a few days, it will be ripe. You can add it to your salad and dishes. But over-ripe fruits will turn yellow entirely, and they will have brown spots all over. You will have to avoid both green and over-ripe fruits.

 

How to Cut Star Fruit

Find the right star fruit and rinse it under running water. Some fruits might have contaminants, and you will have to rinse them properly to remove them. You can use your finger to scrub the fruit and remove all the dirt. Now you will need a sharp knife to cut it. You do not need to peel its skin off as the skin is edible. Also, you do not need to remove seeds before eating. You need to cut it into star shapes. Use a knife to cut the star fruit across its broadside. The cut will make star-shaped slices. You can eat them or add them to any dish or salad.

 

Some people want to remove seeds and edges before eating. However, these are edible and will not cause any adverse effects. But you can remove edges while using them for presentation, including garnishing. If you remove brown edges, the slices will look yummy. You will have to consider the following steps to remove its edges.

 

Wash the fruit under running water and use your fingers to remove dirt. You will have to scrub away all contaminants. It is a must if you want to eat it raw. After removing contaminants, hold the fruit straight with one hand. You can also support its bottom against your cutting board. It is worth mentioning that you will have to remove edges and seeds before making slices. Now, glide your sharp knife along the edges of the fruit. You will have to cut from where the green or brown part begins. Make thin slices and remove the brown or green part only.

 

After removing the edges, you can cut off both ends of the fruit. While cutting the ends, you can remove any remaining pointed tips. Also, you will have to use a sharp knife to make cutting easy and accurate. Use the knife to cut it into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. Now, you can cut across its broadside to make star shapes. However, you will have to use your knife’s tip to remove the seeds of the fruit. You can gently remove all the visible seeds.

 

The star-shaped slices will look appealing without seeds and edges. Also, you can eat these slices raw. You will love the sweet flavor. However, you can also add them to your tropical fruit salad. The taste will pair well with leafy greens as well. More importantly, you can add these slices to your dishes. However, you will have to ensure that the ingredients complement the flavor.

 

You can also prepare a non-alcoholic beverage. For this, you will need some fruit juices and pureed star fruits. You can add water as well. You need to mix 1lb star fruit, 1 tsp lime juice, and one thumb of ginger. You will need 4 cups of water. You can add honey or sugar to taste. Also, you can consider adding carbonated water.

Health Benefits of Star Fruits

Star fruit is super healthy. One medium-sized star fruit contains 1 g protein, 28 calories, 2.5 fiber, and 6.1 g carbohydrates. Also, it has 13% pectin, 27% hemicelluloses, and 60% cellulose. You will find an impressive range of minerals and vitamins, including antioxidants. It will have gallic acid and vitamin C. Both will prevent cellular damage.

 

In addition to all these minerals and vitamins, a medium-sized star fruit contains 121 mg potassium, 9.1 mg magnesium, 31.3 mg vitamin C, 1.8 mg sodium, 2.73 mg calcium, and 10.9 mg phosphorous. Therefore, you can expect many health benefits. It will support your weight loss, reduce inflammation, strengthen immunity, improve respiratory health, and boost heart health.

 

As mentioned above, star fruit is an excellent source of antioxidants. It contains vitamin C and beta carotene. You can have about 31 mg of vitamin C while eating medium-sized star fruit.

 

However, your body needs 90mg of vitamin C per day. It is worth mentioning that adult males will require 90 mg of vitamin C and females will need 75mg per day. However, the intake needs to be more during pregnancy, about 85 mg per day. It will be much more, around 120 mg during lactation. But, your body cannot make vitamin C. Hence, you will have to follow a supportive diet to get an adequate amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C will combat oxidative stress. In addition to this, it will increase collagen production and speed up healing.

 

Also, the fruit contains a high amount of fiber. It will help the blood to absorb sugar slowly and balance your blood sugar level. Moreover, the fruit is rich in both insoluble and soluble fiber. The soluble fiber will dissolve in water and form a gel-like substance. But the insoluble fiber will not dissolve in water. Instead, it will create the bulk and support your gut health. It will help the food waste to pass through your digestive tract.

 

Apart from all these, the soluble fiber will have cholesterol-lowering effects. It can remove fat molecules from your blood. As a result, the risk for cardiovascular diseases will be less. Also, the soluble fiber reduces glucose levels.

 

More importantly, the star fruit can cure many health complications. Asian countries and traditional Chinese medicines use this fruit to treat asthma, cough, sore throat, skin problems, and headaches. These are the benefits of the star fruits.

 

Also, you can expect health benefits from its leaves and roots as well. The leaves, roots, and fruits contain tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins. These compounds have healing and antioxidant properties. Moreover, these properties can delay aging and address many health issues. The best part is that this fruit is low in sugar and rich in fiber and antioxidants. Also, it contains calcium that relieves tension in the blood vessels and arteries. Hence, there will be less risk for a heart attack. Besides, it will protect you from other cardiovascular diseases.

 

Adding a star fruit to your diet can be beneficial in many ways. It will regulate your blood sugar, strengthen your immunity, and protect your cardiovascular system. However, if you have kidney problems or any other chronic health complications, consult your doctor before adding any new fruit to your diet.