Carambola

Unripe carambolas on the tree

Carambola, or star fruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to Indonesia, the Philippines, and throughout Malesia.[1] The fruit is commonly consumed throughout Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, and parts of East Asia. The tree is cultivated throughout non-indigenous tropical areas.

The fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually five but can sometimes vary); when cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, hence its name.[1] The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of hand. They may also be used in cooking and can be made into relishes, preserves, and juice drinks.

Origins and distribution

Sliced carambolas having 7, 6, and the usual 5 points

The original range of Averrhoa carambola is believed to be from Sri Lanka or Indonesia,[1] but has been cultivated in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. They remain a local favorite in those areas but have also recently gained popularity in parts of East Asia and Queensland, Australia; as well as in the Pacific Islands, particularly Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and Guam. They are cultivated commercially in India, Southeast Asia, southern China, Taiwan, and the southern United States. They are also grown in Central America, the Southwestern United States and Florida, and parts of Africa.[1][2] In other areas they are usually grown as ornamentals, rather than for consumption.[2]

Description

The fruit is about 5 to 15 centimetres (2 to 6 inches) in length and is an oval shape. It usually has five prominent longitudinal ridges, but in rare instances it can have as few as four or as many as eight. In cross section, it resembles a star.[1] The skin is thin, smooth, and waxy and turns a light to dark yellow when ripe. The flesh is translucent and light yellow to yellow in color. Each fruit can have 10 to 12 flat light brown seeds about 6 to 13 mm (0.25 to 0.5 in) in width and enclosed in gelatinous aril. Once removed from the fruit, they lose viability within a few days.[3][4][5]

Like the closely related bilimbi, there are two main types of carambola: the small sour (or tart) type and the larger sweet type. The sour varieties have a higher oxalic acid content than the sweet type. A number of cultivars have been developed in recent years. The most common cultivars grown commercially include the sweet types "Arkin" (Florida), "Dah Pon" (Taiwan), "Ma fueng" (Thailand), "Maha" (Malaysia), and "Demak" (Indonesia) and the sour types "Golden Star", "Newcomb", "Star King", and "Thayer" (all from Florida). Some of the sour varieties like "Golden Star" can become sweet if allowed to ripen.[2][3][4]

Culinary

Vertical, end view, and cross section of the ripe carambola
Carambola, (star fruit), raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 128 kJ (31 kcal)
6.73 g
Sugars 3.98 g
Dietary fiber 2.8 g
0.33 g
1.04 g
Vitamins Quantity %DV†
Vitamin A equiv.
66 μg
Thiamine (B1)
1%
0.014 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
1%
0.016 mg
Niacin (B3)
2%
0.367 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
8%
0.391 mg
Vitamin B6
1%
0.017 mg
Folate (B9)
3%
12 μg
Choline
2%
7.6 mg
Vitamin C
41%
34.4 mg
Vitamin E
1%
0.15 mg
Minerals Quantity %DV†
Calcium
0%
3 mg
Iron
1%
0.08 mg
Magnesium
3%
10 mg
Manganese
2%
0.037 mg
Phosphorus
2%
12 mg
Potassium
3%
133 mg
Sodium
0%
2 mg
Zinc
1%
0.12 mg
Other constituents Quantity
Water 91.4 g
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

The entire fruit is edible, including the slightly waxy skin. The flesh is crunchy, firm, and extremely juicy.[1] It does not contain fibers and has a texture similar in consistency to that of grapes. Carambolas are best consumed shortly after they ripen, when they are yellow with a light shade of green or just after all traces of green have disappeared. They will also have brown ridges at the edges and feel firm. Fruits picked while still slightly green will turn yellow in storage at room temperature, but will not increase in sugar content. Overripe carambola will be yellow with brown spots and can become blander in taste and soggier in consistency.[4][6]

Ripe sweet type carambolas are sweet without being overwhelming as they rarely have more than 4% sugar content. They have a tart, sour undertone, and an oxalic acid odor. The taste is difficult to compare, but it has been compared to a mix of apple, pear, grape, and citrus family fruits. Unripe star fruits are firmer and sour, and taste like green apples.[3][7]

Ripe carambolas may also be used in cooking. In Southeast Asia, they are usually stewed in cloves and sugar, sometimes with apples. In China, they are cooked with fish. In Australia, they may be cooked as a vegetable, pickled, or made into jams. In Jamaica they are sometimes dried.[2]

Unripe and sour type carambolas can be mixed with other chopped spices to make relishes in Australia.[2] In the Philippines, unripe carambolas are eaten dipped in rock salt.[8] In Thailand, they are cooked together with shrimp.[2]

The juice from carambolas is also used in iced drinks, particularly the juice of the sour varieties. In the Philippines they can be used as seasoning. In India, the juice is bottled for drinking.[2]

Nutrition

Raw carambola fruit is 91% water, 7% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and has negligible fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, raw fruit supplies 31 calories and is mainly devoid of significant micronutrient content, except for vitamin C at 41% of the Daily Value.

Risks

Carambolas contain caramboxin[9] and oxalic acid.[10] Both substances are harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure, kidney stones, or those under kidney dialysis treatment.[10] Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, mental confusion, and sometimes death.[11][12][13] Caramboxin is a neurotoxin which is structurally similar to phenylalanine, and is a glutamatergic agonist.[9]

Drug interactions

Like the grapefruit, carambola is considered to be a potent inhibitor of seven cytochrome P450 isoforms.[14][15] These enzymes are significant in the first-pass elimination of many medications, and, thus, the consumption of carambola or its juice in combination with certain prescription medications can significantly increase their effective dosage within the body.

Cultivation

Unripe Indian carambola

The carambola is a tropical and subtropical fruit which can be grown at elevations up to 1,200 metres (4,000 feet). It prefers full sun exposure, but requires enough humidity and annual rainfall of at least 1,800 mm (70 in). It does not have a soil type preference, but requires good drainage.

Carambola trees are planted at least 6 m (20 ft) from each other and typically are fertilized three times a year. The tree grows rapidly and typically produces fruit at four or five years of age. The large amount of rain during spring actually reduces the amount of fruit, but, in ideal conditions, carambola can produce from 90 to 180 kilograms (200 to 400 pounds) of fruit a year. The carambola tree flowers throughout the year, with main fruiting seasons from April to June and October to December in Malaysia,[16] for example, but fruiting also occurs at other times in some other locales, such as South Florida.[4]

Major pests are fruit flies, fruit moths, ants, and birds.[3][16] Crops are also susceptible to frost.[3]

Top producers of carambola in the world market include Australia, Guyana, India, Israel, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States.[4] Malaysia is a global leader in star fruit production by volume and ships the product widely to Asia and Europe.[16] Due to concerns over pests and pathogens, however, whole star fruits cannot yet be imported to the US from Malaysia under current United States Department of Agriculture regulations. In the United States, carambolas are grown in tropical and semitropical areas, including Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana, California, Virginia, Florida and Hawaii.[2][17]

In the United States, commercial cultivation and broad consumer acceptance of the fruit only dates to the 1970s, attributable to Morris Arkin, a backyard horticulturalist, in Coral Gables, Florida. The 'Arkin' variety represented 98% of the acreage in South Florida in the early 21st century.[18]

Other uses

The trees are also grown as ornamentals for their abundant brightly colored and unusually shaped fruits, as well as for their attractive dark green leaves and their lavender to pink flowers.[4]

Like the bilimbi, the juice of the more acidic sour types can be used to clean rusty or tarnished metal (especially brass) as well as bleach rust stains from cloth. They may also be used as a mordant in dyeing.[2]

Etymology and vernacular names

The Portuguese word carambola, first known use 1598, was taken from Marathi karambal derived from Sanskrit karmaphala.[19]

The carambola is known under different names in different countries. It should not be confused with the closely related bilimbi, with which it shares some common names. It is also called "star fruit" in English (including Jamaican English and Philippine English) and literally translates into Stjernefrugt in Danish, Sternfrucht in German, and Stjärnfrukt in Swedish. In Spanish, it is known as carambola, carambolo, tamarindo chino, tamarindo culí, balimbín (Philippine Spanish, from Tagalog balimbing, plural is balimbines), and fruta china (Ecuador). In maritime Southeast Asia, it is known as belimbing in Indonesian and Malay and balimbíng or saranate in Tagalog.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Averrhoa carambola (carambola)". CABI. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Julia F. Morton (1987). "Carambola". In Julia F. Morton. Fruits of warm climates. pp. 125–128.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Averrhoa carambola L." California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jonathan H. Crane (1994). The Carambola (Star Fruit) (PDF). Fact Sheet HS-12. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  5. ↑ "Star Fruit". Fruitsinfo. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ "How to Eat Star Fruit". Buzzle. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Carambola or Star Fruit". FloridaGardener.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Balimbing / Carambola / Star Fruit". Market Manila. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Garcia-Cairasco, N.; Moyses-Neto, M.; Del Vecchio, F.; Oliveira, J. A. C.; Dos Santos, F. L.; Castro, O. W.; Arisi, G. M.; Dantas, M. R.; Carolino, R. O. G.; Coutinho-Netto, J.; Dagostin, A. L. A.; Rodrigues, M. C. A.; Leão, R. M.; Quintiliano, S. A. P.; Silva, L. F.; Gobbo-Neto, L.; Lopes, N. P. (2013). "Elucidating the Neurotoxicity of the Star Fruit". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 52 (49): 13067–70. doi:10.1002/anie.201305382. PMID 24281890.
  10. 1 2 Muthu, N.; Lee, S. Y.; Phua, K. K.; Bhore, S. J. (2016). "Nutritional, Medicinal and Toxicological Attributes of Star-Fruits (Averrhoa carambola L.): A Review". Bioinformation. 12 (12): 420–424. doi:10.6026/97320630012420. PMC 5357571. PMID 28405126.
  11. ↑ Chang CT, Chen YC, Fang JT, Huang CC (2002). "Star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) intoxication: an important cause of consciousness disturbance in patients with renal failure". Ren Fail. 24 (3): 379–82. doi:10.1081/JDI-120005373. PMID 12166706.
  12. ↑ Neto MM, da Costa JA, Garcia-Cairasco N, Netto JC, Nakagawa B, Dantas M (2003). "Intoxication by star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) in 32 uraemic patients: treatment and outcome". Nephrol Dial Transplant. 18 (1): 120–5. doi:10.1093/ndt/18.1.120. PMID 12480969.
  13. ↑ Titchenal A & Dobbs J (2003-04-28). "Kidney patients should avoid star fruit". Nutrition ATC. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  14. ↑ "Abstracts: Metabolism and metabolic enzymes studies for the 8th National Congress on Drug and Xenobiotic Metabolism in China". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  15. ↑ Potential Drug-Food Interactions with Pomegranate Juice Archived March 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. 1 2 3 Crop Protection & Plant Quarantine Services Division (2004). Technical Document for Market Access on Star Fruit (Carambola) (PDF). The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Malaysia.
  17. ↑ Hein Bijlmakers. "Star Fruit". Tropical Fruits. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  18. ↑ Robert J. Knight; Jonathan H. Crane (2002). "The 'Arkin' Carambola in Florida" (PDF). Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 115: 92–93.
  19. ↑ "Carambola - Definition of carambola by Merriam-Webster". merriam-webster.com.
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