Star Fruit of All Seasons

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Summer is definitely making its presence felt as fruits that usually come in season during the warmer months have started showing up on the market. Case in point, the star apple. Growing up, we had two star apple trees in our yard and we had no need to buy the fruits since we only had to rig a fruit picker long enough to reach the taller branches of our fruit-bearing tree. However, I remember them bearing fruits by March and they start to ripen some time by June. We had both the green variety out back and the greenish purply one in our front yard but both are equally delicious. 

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

In our dialect, we used to refer to them as tar apple due to the latex-like residue that oozes out from the rind when you cut into the fruit. To enjoy the fruit, you basically have to spoon out the sweet flesh of the ripe fruit making sure you spit out the seeds. We used to eat them straight from the tree without any utensils by prying them in half using our thumbs and diving straight in. Ah, the joys of childhood. If you do cut the fruit crosswise, you can see the star shape which is why the fruit is named, thusly.

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

I have seen the fruits being sold as early as January which was quite a surprise to me. Still, I was not craving for them yet so I kept my eyes on another tropical fruit, the Chico which is hands down, my all time favorite fruit. However, these were being sold in the fruit stands today and they were cheap so I decided to go for them instead. I usually eat them at room temperature without any special preparation whatsoever but I've seen these being served in milk and crushed ice during the summer months. Ice cold is the only way to go when serving them this way and I have to say, they are delicious. No recipe required. Just combine the flesh of 2 lbs of ripe fruit, 1 can of evaporated milk and 1 cup of crushed ice. Cool in the freezer until ready to serve them.