Winter oranges – chapter 2
We are used to having orange soup during the winter, which contains mainly sweet potatoes and squash, which are actually summer crops, but there are many more winter oranges: carrots that are now coming out of the ground, which will be with us all year, oranges, tangerines…. that will be with us all season.
And also the star of the week – it is a real star, which is with us now and for only a short while, and is literally a star – the carambola, the star fruit.
The carambola grows on small to medium sized trees, which are always green (does not shed its leaves in winter) and, as appropriate to its origin of south east Asia, does not like a very cold climate. It will be with us until the temperatures drops or until the winter winds blow the unripened fruit off the tree…. so it is wise to make your acquaintance with the carambola now, because in this country's fall we don’t know how long it will be with us. Its visit may be short.
The carambola has many different species varying from white to orange, and tastes varying from sour to sweet. Accordingly, the uses vary as well: as a vegetable in salad, in sweet or sour canned preservatives, as a raw fruit, in soft drinks or alcoholic beverages – also liquers, in main courses and in deserts.
The Israeli carambola, usually the species goldenstar or carrie, is sweet when completely ripe, when the color is orange. When they are yellowish their taste reminds me of a super juicy cucumber and I enjoy it as a vegetable. Yes, really, in a salad with lettuce, avocado, tomato…
Nir Tzuk wrote about the carambola that most people have tasted it before it has fully ripened. “When ripened, carambolas, like humans, soften, show flaws on the skin and the visual attraction goes down. But carambolas that are ripe drip with juiciness and give themselves easily."
Well, when you want to eat it raw as a fruit, you should let it ripen until full orangeness and even allow the edges to go brown. The taste is sweet, refreshing and special.
In natural medicine it is known to treat hemorrhoids, cough, mouth sores and tooth aches, drunkenness, cough, and kidney stones. I read somewhere that elderly Asian women start their mornings with a fresh carambola on an empty stomach to prevent constipation. The more it is ripe the sweeter it is, and if we eat it when it is most beautiful we will miss its sweet taste.
The carambola has vitamins A, B and quite a lot if C, also the minerals magnesium, zinc and potassium.
It is of course beautiful and decorates any drink or dish 🙂 and even relaxes the nervous system.
Here are some interesting recipes:
Organic papaya and carambola salad with honey and nana
organic avocado and carambola salad with poppy vinegrate \ Phyllis Glezer
organic lettuce and carambola salad
organic carambola and red grapefruit salad
Enjoy them all.
Have a juicy, sweet and calm week,
Yours,
Maggie, Michelle and the garden staff 🙂
We expect in our baskets, along with star fruit, only drafts:
Baby Sweet Potato
Cabbage
Dates
Avocados
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Peppers
Onions
Parsley
Larger ones also:
Dill
Beets
And eggplant Baldi
Fruit baskets:
Carambola
And tangerines
Larger ones also:
Sweeties
And oranges
