Star Fruit

Photo Source: Google Images

The final piece of fruit in my "tropical fruit trilogy" from Sunday's farmer's market excursion....ta da...Star Fruit.  The most familiar of the bunch, and sadly, my least favorite.  I've eaten Star Fruit before...but for some reason I couldn't remember the flavor - it was always in a salad or on a display.  It simply didn't stand out.  I was eager to give it a try and a bit disappointed in the results.

I'm a real fan of tart fruit generally, and the Star Fruit I ate today was slightly tart.  I don't know if it was the various textures I didn't like; the distinctive mouth feel of the slightly leathery skin, the juicy flesh, the soft but gristly feeling internal spines... or specifically what.  All I know is it just didn't "sing" to my taste buds.  In fact, I could likely go the rest of my life, never eat another Star Fruit, and be A-OK with that.  <shrug>  I didn't hate it - I just didn't love it.

That's too bad because Star Fruit seems like another one of those "pretty foods that are good for you".  One web site I found, Natural Living Cuisine, had a lot of good information about the fruit, as well as the same About.com article I read on Thai fruits which referenced the Dragon Fruit.  I followed the instructions for trimming and de-seeding and cutting my fruit and I had it for dessert with my dinner tonight.  As a matter of fact, it left a little after taste in my mouth - and not in a good way.  Sad...it's a pretty fruit.

It's a fruit I would, however, use again on a fruit display or as an accent in a salad...it would likely stand up to a buffet fruit salad - unlike bananas and pears.... and since I've tried it in salads before and it didn't stick out as distasteful- it will continue to be a consideration when I want an unusual, and nutritious, addition to a fruit salad!

So there we have it - three fairly unusual tropical fruits.  I intend to try some more unusual tropical fruits when I next visit the South Padre Island Farmer's Market.  I saw some things at the Rivers End Nursery and Farm stand that I didn't have any clue as to their identity.... I'm sure I'll be writing about one of those oddities in the near future.  For now, however, there ends the tropical fruit trilogy...I'm about ready for dinner out.  Hmmmm....where to go, where to go???

The Sugar Apple

Photo Source: Google Images

If you read my post about yesterday's visit to the Farmer's Market, you know I bought a couple of fruits I'd not tried before.  I was shocked to find my Sugar Apple, which was hard yesterday, was soft today and obviously ready to eat.  I tried to cut it, but frankly it was easier to pull it apart with my fingers.  The outside is kind of leathery feeling and did not slice easily.  It was, as described by the farmers, easiest to scoop out the insides and suck the seeds.  There is no obvious way to get to the fruit otherwise.  I used my fingers and plucked the seeds out one by one and then gently scraped the inside with a spoon.  That garnered less than a teaspoon of pulp (the scraping).  I took a couple of cell phone photos (I left my camera in the car and don't want to fight the mosquitoes to go get it right now).  You can see that there are a lot of black seeds with a thin coating of fruit.  The first bite tasted sweet, yet had an underlying starchy taste.  The texture is almost gelatinous.  I ate about 1/4 of the content and then went to Google the fruit to see what I could find out about it. 

I found this link from what looks to be a Purdue web site which gave a great amount of background on the fruit.  If you find one - and try it - don't swallow the seeds.  They are apparently toxic.  It's a lot of work for just a little bit of fruit.  However, it tasted sweeter and sweeter as I continued popping those seeds in and sucking off the pulp.  I am unsure whether or not I'll buy one again...but I'd LOVE to see this fruit as the Iron Chef America secret ingredient :-)

South Padre Island Farmer's Market

BASED ON TRIPS FROM FEBRUARY 2010 TO JULY 2010          As I drove up to the North shore area, where the local farmer’s market is held, I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. I was so happy to be back at a local farmer’s market! I parked on the side of the road, tried not to sink into too much sand, hopped out, grabbed my Central Market canvas tote, re-secured my hat – because, of course, the wind was briskly blowing – and just stopped to listen. I heard live music, I heard people laughing, I heard a gull or two, I heard the sound of flags snapping in the wind. Then, I sniffed the air – the salty sea air. The sun was shining and a complete feeling of Zen came over me. There is nothing like a farmer’s market!

The first trip to the SPI Farmer’s Market was, well, crowded. The Winter Texans were here and it was a new venture…it was a little chaotic. The produce was abundant (lots of greens and lettuce blends, broccoli, cauliflower) but sold rapidly. This trip was a little more laid back – April had arrived – the veggies were different. It was less crowded, more of the feel I’ve come to associate with off-season South Padre Island.

At one of the following visits I got celery, the first of the cucumbers, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, tender little carrots, young green beans, some herbs, speckled eggs, and other delectable vegetables. On other trips I’ve gotten melons, pineapples, greens, onions, broccoli, salads from Zeste and baked goods. This week I hear there is corn, sweet potatoes, melons, an abundance of squashes, and other end-of-summer yummies. My favorite vendor is Acacia Farms – they never fail to have beautiful product. But, really, all of the selections are wonderful for such a small market.

The SPI Farmer’s Market just makes me feel good. I stood in the sun for a moment, listening to guitar music, browsing the offerings at the Paragraphs Book Store kiosk and was so happy to be living here in this beautiful area... with a soul-deep need fulfilled; to be able to access locally-grown produce in a friendly small-town environment – just heavenly. The market is currently held on Sunday each week, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. just north of the Convention Center at The Shores. You’ll see the white tents and the cars parked along the road. See you there!

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

5 – OMG – that was an outstanding EVENT! I can’t wait to go back!