In Asia, carambola is as common as apples for Russian residents. By the way, this fruit tastes like a sour apple, crossed with a cucumber, and in color it is almost like a relative to him - yellow-green. But outwardly resembles a star in cross section. It is on this basis that the ribbed fruit is often called "starfruit", from the word "star". And you can also find other poetic names of carambola - the "fifth corner" and "star apple".
Pick your recipe
Exotic fruit is popular in Asia, but it is very common in India, Indonesia, Ghana and even grows in Hawaii. For the first time, Russians can try the product in Brazil and Thailand, and Europeans are now happy to decorate their festive tables with a five-pointed edible curiosity. It just needs to be cut across, and the unusual dish is ready to eat.
What taste
Carambola is distinguished by a gentle sweet and sour taste, fresh and pleasant. Someone in a ripe carambol tastes like gooseberries and plums. You can feel the orange with the cucumber. There are a lot of flavors. You just have to try to get your own idea.
The pulp contains a large amount of liquid, as in a cucumber, and it is often used simply to quench thirst.
What are the benefits
Carambola has very few calories - no more than 35 per 100 g. So you can eat and drink this fruit in unlimited quantities. In addition, it does not provoke allergies (mashed potatoes are used in Asia as the first feeding of a baby). But it is contraindicated in case of high acidity of the stomach, with gastritis and ulcer and renal diseases (due to oxalic acid in the composition).
Despite the exotic name, bright color and unusual shape, the tropical fruit is not a dummy, it is rich in vitamins and minerals. For his benefit, he is very valuable. So vitamin B1, entering the human body with the pulp of a fruit, has a positive effect on the state of the nervous system. Reception of carambola relieves a person’s irritability, makes him balanced. And literally 3-5 minutes after a snack with a “star apple”, the mood improves and a person feels a surge of strength and vitality.
Acids that saturate carambola have beneficial effects on the thyroid gland. If there is a “star” from time to time, then you can negate food allergies. Also, an exotic specimen is an excellent prevention of cardiovascular diseases and arthritis. Thanks to thiamine in the composition, it has a good effect on the digestive tract. Fruit perfectly improves appetite.
Carambola is recommended by doctors to children, the elderly and especially sick patients after serious illnesses.
By the way, immunity will also thank you if you decide to increase it with “starfruit”. Even if a cold has already overtaken, daily use of this product will increase the body's resistance.
Women venerate the fruit for its youthful properties. Frequent use leads to the strengthening of nail platinum, the appearance of shine and moisturizing the skin. Dietary benefits are also a big advantage for losing weight.
Finally, carambola brilliantly copes with the most severe hangover. Enough freshly squeezed 100-150 ml of the drink, and thirst with a headache will completely clear. And thanks to trace elements in its composition, the fruit removes toxins and other harmful substances from the body weakened by alcohol (or disease).