This recipe is for a homemade star fruit syrup. Native to Southeast Asia, this crunchy exotic plant, also known as “carambola,” is a yellow fruit that resembles a star when sliced, which is why it was given its name. It also has a unique sweet and sour flavor that mixes beautifully in cocktails.
I made this syrup for the first time to use in a Star Wars-inspired drink called the My Only Hope. The recipe was inspired by Princess Leia, so we chose to use a homemade star fruit syrup as a nod to starblossom, an edible fruit found on Leia’s home planet of Alderaan.
Fill a large pot with hot water.
Place immersion circulator inside pot of water and set to 135°F.
Juice 4-5 star fruits, then measure out 200 ml star fruit juice.
Add 200 g sugar and 20 g gum arabic powder to a blender.
Slowly pour 200 ml star fruit juice into blender and blend until sugar is dissolved.
Pour juice mixture into a sealable freezer bag.
Once the water has heated to 135°F, seal the freezer bag, place it in the water while leaving the top 3-4 inches of the bag outside of the water, and secure the top of the bag to the side of the pot with clips.
Let syrup cook in the pot at 135°F for 2 hours.
Once cooked, place the bag into an ice bath to shock the syrup, then let cool.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any remaining fruit chunks and sugar particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with a spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.