On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 740

base form first and are therefore the oldest
and sweetest, and the acidity of the flesh
doubles from the core to the surface. Thanks
to their assertive flavor and firm, somewhat
fibrous flesh, pineapples can be cut into
chunksandbaked,grilled,orfried.Theyhave
an affinity for the flavors of butter and
caramelandworkwellinbakedgoods,aswell
as various raw preparations (salsas, drinks,
sorbets).
Pineapple Enzymes Pineapples contain
several active protein-digesting enzymes that
are used in meat tenderizers, but can cause
problems in other prepared dishes. (In
medicinetheyhavebeenexploitedasameans
ofcleaningburnsandotherwounds,andthey
help control inflammatory diseases in
animals.) Bromelain, the major enzyme, will
break down gelatin, so pineapple for gelatinbased desserts must be cooked first, to
inactivate the enzyme. And if incorporated


into a mixture containing milk or cream,
bromelainwillbreakdownthecaseinproteins
and produce bitter-tasting protein fragments.
Again, precooking the pineapple will prevent
this.
StarFruitStarfruitorcarambolacomefrom
the small Southeast Asian treeAver-rhoa
carambola, a member of the wood sorrel
(Oxalis) family. These medium-sized,

yellowish fruits are notable for their starlike
crosssection,adecorativetouchinsaladsand
garnishes,foranaromawithnotesofConcord
grapes and quince, and for the presence of
oxalic acid, mainly in the five ridges. When
unripe and especially rich in oxalic acid, star
fruit are sourly reminiscent of similarly
endowedsorrel(p.411)andareusedtoclean
and polish metal! Star fruit are colored by
carotenoid pigments, including beta-carotene.
Arelative,thebilimbi,istootarttoeatfresh
and in the tropics is made into preserves and