Day 82

Star Fruit: On the way down 285 this afternoon, I decided to stop off at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market to pick up something for dinner as well as some foods for the blog. The BHFM rarely disappoints, and I really love their produce section - it has some great things you won't see anywhere else, and the prices are usually much cheaper than conventional big-box groceries.

I spotted these star fruit near the main entrance, and they looked really interesting. I didn't know anything at all about them, so I picked one up to sample. I love it when I buy something that I have zero information about, so I was eager to get it home to see what it was all about. The fruit itself was only 4 or 5 inches long, and the outside was a bit soft and waxy. I did a bit of research when I got home, and learned that they're native to the Phillipines (as well as a few Asian/Latin countries) and officially called carambola. I also wasn't sure how to eat it, but the directions I found instructed me to carefully cut off the edges, then slice the fruit horizontally, resulting in star-shaped pieces.

Once I tried, I was pleased with the results. The flavor reminded me of a much less sweet kiwi, and the fruit inside was really juicy and firm, almost like a melon. Like the dragonfruit, I could easily see star fruit in a fruit salad - it was good, but not super-flavorful on its own. If you see it, it's definitely worth trying.