Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Star Fruit Butter

What do you do when you have and excess of fresh star fruit? First, how often does that happen - apparently frequently in South Florida - and second, star fruit is not the most familiar of fruits to me so being creative is hard. Despite this I decided to try my hand at star fruit butter.

Star fruit is really good for you and is classified as a "superfruit". You can read about star fruit here if you are interested.

Recipe: (I adapted from the star fruit chutney)

2 cups cubed star fruit
1/2 dry red wine (I think any kind would be fine)
1 T agave nectar
1 T powder ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
2 T apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Basically, I threw all the ingredients into a pot and let simmer on low for like 3 hours. Around hour 2 I put the mixture into a blender to puree all the skins. This reduces a lot - I made a double batch and all of that resulted into a half pint jar. I canned the butter and it is now on my shelf for an occasion yet to come.

Alternatives:

- You could not simmer as much and make more of a syrup rather than a butter.
- I thought of adding a fresh lime at the end to brighten it.
- Fresh ginger would give it more of a kick.

Uses:

- Ok, so this is where I struggled the most because the ginger gives it a little bit of a spicy kick but the fruit adds some sugar. However, Dave has found the most uses: feta and star fruit butter sandwich; almond butter and start fruit bagel; and pour over cream cheese for a dip.