Star fruit is an exotic and wonderfully tasty fruit thatās one of the most beloved options out there if you want a tropical hit. Not only does it have a wonderful colour and shape, but its mild, sour flavour is unique amongst fruits. But, how do you store it for the long term?
Can You Freeze Star Fruit?
Yes, you can freeze star fruit for up to 3 months. You can cut the star fruit into slices and freeze them. After theyāve frozen solid, youāll be able to transfer them to an airtight container. Alternatively, you can blend the star fruit into a paste, and freeze that in ice trays.
Do Does Star Fruit freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Star Fruit? No
How to Freeze Star Fruit
To make your star fruit last a little longer, you may need to freeze it – this will ensure that you can easily keep the fruit tasty and ready to eat when youād like it.
There are actually two ways to freeze star fruit, both of which we have covered below:
How to Freeze Star Fruit Slices
If you want to use large chunks of star fruit in desserts then this is the approach you’ll need to take when freezing it:
- Cut the Slices: First of all, you need to cut the star fruit into slices. The fruit doesnāt need to be peeled, thankfully, which means that you can easily just cut slices off the body of the fruit itself. Try to aim for two to three centimetre thick slices.
- Lay Out: Lie the slices of star fruit out on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil or baking paper, ensuring that no two slices are touching. If the slices are touching, they may freeze together, which would be very frustrating.
- Place Them in the Freezer: Place the baking sheets with the star fruit on them into the freezer, and allow them to freeze over the course of around four hours. They shouldnāt take too long, four hours is somewhat of a maximum.
- Transfer the Frozen Slices to an Airtight Container: When the slices are completely frozen, transfer them to an airtight container, and they will store for around three months. The container must be airtight so that the star fruit doesnāt take on the plastic taste of the freezer itself.
How to Freeze Star Fruit Paste
If, however, you only want to impart the star fruit flavour into a dish (like a smoothie) then you can actually make a star fruit paste and freeze this into cubes using the following method:
- Blend the Star Fruit: First of all, you can place the star fruit into a blender and pulse until youāve got a rough pulp, before blending until you achieve a fine paste. You may need to cut the star fruit up a little so that they can all fit into the blender.
- Portion Into an Ice Cube Tray: Portion the paste into an ice cube tray, leaving a little headroom on each divot in the tray – the liquid will expand a little as it freezes, so ensuring that it doesnāt spill is vital.
- Transfer to an Airtight Container: Once the cubes are frozen solid, you can transfer them to an airtight container, where theyāll keep for three months.
Weād recommend keeping them in an airtight container for the same reason weād recommend keeping the slices in an airtight container – we donāt want them to acquire a freezer odour. Star fruit will absorb any smell it can pick up!
3 Tips for Freezing Star Fruit
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing star fruit to have the best results:
Freeze Them Apart
Freeze the slices while theyāre not directly touching one another – if theyāre touching, they can get stuck, which can be a huge pain later on.
Be Gentle
Try not to batter the fruit around too much if itās ripe, it bruises easily, and bruised flesh will give the airtight container a poor aroma with your other slices of star fruit in it.
Don’t Peel or Deseed
Remember that you donāt need to skin or deseed star fruit. If you do either of those things before freezing it, then youāre simply wasting the fruit that youāre throwing out.
How Long Can You Freeze Star Fruit?
You can freeze star fruit for up to three months. The reason for this is that the fruit is typically frozen in containers with some air, and beyond three months, that air gives way to freezer burn.
In theory, you could freeze the fruit a little longer if you were able to vacuum seal it. The hardware to achieve this is expensive, however, so itās not a great tip for most people.
How Do You Defrost Star Fruit?
The best way to thaw frozen fruit is to be gentle about it – being too quick or rough will ruin the texture of the fruit, leading to a poor final product.
Your best bet is to place the fruit into a sealable plastic bag. Once itās in the bag, place the bag into water thatās warm, but cool enough that you could submerge your hand without discomfort.
Change that warm water every twenty minutes until the fruit is defrosted.
Can You Refreeze Star Fruit?
You can refreeze star fruit paste, but you cannot refreeze star fruit slices.
The reason for this is that star fruit slices contain a lot of water and, as that water freezes and thaws, it will ruin the texture of the slices, which means that the slices themselves will become less palatable.
Star fruit paste doesnāt have this problem, as the texture has already been destroyed by the blending process. Therefore, the refreezing process couldnāt do damage to the star fruit if it tried.
Does Star Fruit Freeze Well?
To some extent, yes, star fruit does freeze well.
Star fruit slices freeze quite well, and they can be stored, once frozen for up to three months. Once thawed, though, they cannot be refrozen.
Star fruit paste freezes very well – it can be stored in an airtight container for up to three months. It freezes well when portioned into cubes as we describe above, and can be added to smoothies or similar blended drinks to give a drink a fruity, interesting hit of flavour.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing star fruit or star fruit in general, then these may help:
Star fruit will last for around 1 week in the fridge. They can also be kept out at room temperature, in a fruit bowl, for between 2 and 3 days only.
Unfortunately, frozen and then defrosted star fruit won’t work well in a fruit salad. Instead, use them in desserts, smoothies or for garnishing drinks.
