Happy leap day! Since this is a day we often skip, I’m featuring a fruit we often skip: starfruit, otherwise known as carambola. My Aunt Bernie had a starfruit tree next to her front door, and whenever I smell them it takes me back there. She would slice them up and arrange all the little stars on a glass plate. I ate them because they were pretty, but I was never quite sure what to think of the taste. They were juicy, with a strange, waxy skin and an unusual tart flavor.
The trees are common in Florida backyards, and they’re also extremely productive. I have neighbors who give away baskets of them, and I also know kids who sell them in lieu of lemonade on their driveway. I can’t pass up homegrown fruit. 
I tried this juice recently, and it was a revelation. I was able to appreciate the flavor alone, without the funny texture. So good! All these years I’ve been eating them, when I really should have been drinking them. 
That’s what led me to this drink. A paloma is basically a margarita with bubbles. It’s an incredibly refreshing cocktail traditionally made with grapefruit and tequila, topped with some seltzer water. Sounds good, right? Just wait ’til you try it with starfruit. It’s equally sweet-tart, but the herbal note of starfruit lends itself so well to tequila. I use Aunt Bernie’s star slices on the side of the mason jar for garnish, along with a rim of sparkly sugar and salt. It’s pretty and tasty.
So next time you see a basket of starfruit, don’t skip over them. Break out the tequila.
- 2 starfruit
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 3/4 cup tequila
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons natural sugar
- crushed ice
- sparkling water
- Slice one starfruit and pop out any visible seeds with a tip of a knife. Place it in the jar of a blender along with the juice of a lime, tequila, and agave nectar. Blend until smooth.
- Slice one starfruit for garnishes with slits so they sit on the side of the jars.
- Combine the salt and sugar in a shallow dish. Slide the sliced starfruit around the rim of 4 mason jars and dip them in the salt and sugar mixture.
- Fill the jars with ice. Pour the blended juice and tequila over the ice and top it off with sparkling water.
This sounds DELISH! I’m glad you tried my starfruit juice – it really offers wonderful flavor and so many opportunities to combine with other fruits/flavors. Now, I’m off to buy some tequila 🙂
Cheers, Nicole!
This looks and sounds so refreshing! mmm could do with one now
Thanks Lola!
I love this one and we have lots of Star Fruit.
Hey Darrell,
I bought some from your kids for a dollar each. Whole Foods prices! 🙂 They’re great salesmen.