Magnolias

Ingredients

Bilimbi - [Averrhoa bilimbi]
This Southeast Asian tree related to the Carambola is now grown in the tropics around the world but not in the U.S. because the winters are too cold even in Florida. The fruit is yellow when ripe and five sided like the Carambola but not to such an extreme degree. It may be from 1-1/2 to 4 inches long, ovoid or nearly cylindrical. The fruit is too tart to eat raw but is used to make jams and beverages. In Costa Rica it's used to make relishes eaten with rice and beans. In Indonesia it's dried, smoked and sold as flavoring Asam sunti used for the sour flavor in recipes in that region. It's used fresh for the same purpose in Malaysia.

Carambola - [Star Fruit, Coromandel Gooseberry, Kamranga, Averrhoa carambola]
This tree, native to Southeast Asia, has been widely planted in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. There are two commonly sold varieties, tart and sweet, which are difficult to tell apart by sight but the sweet ones tend to have thicker ribs. The main use of Carambola in the U.S. is as a decorative addition to fruit salads and similar dishes. Carambola is more cold tolerant than Bilimbi so is grown commercially in South Florida and in Hawaii.

Oca - [New Zealand Yam, Oxalis tuberosa]
This native of the Andean highlands of South America has been introduced to other parts of the world as an alternative to the potato. Outside its home range it has been most successful in New Zealand where a pink variety is grown. Unlike the potato, the leaves and young shoots of the Oca can be eaten as well as the tubers. Oca tubers can be eaten raw, lightly cooked or fully cooked and their response to cooking, from crunchy to soft, is similar to carrots. After harvest tubers are often left in the sun for a while which reduces the oxalic acid content of the skin and sweetens them. This plant does well in harsh climates and with poor soil, but will only set tubers in temperate areas where there is a sufficient difference in day length from season to season. Photo licensed under GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 or later.

Wood Sorrel - [Oxalis, Oxalis stricta and other Oxallis species]
A common weed found in moist sunny areas of the garden, oxalis has almost exactly the same taste as the unrelated Sorrel. It can be used to spice up salads but should not be used in quantity because of the high oxalic acid content. There are some 900 species found over most of the world, but the photo specimen is O. stricta, the common North American weed. Another species, Redwood Sorrel (O. oregana) with larger leaves and white or violet flowers is sold in plant nurseries as a decorative and is just a bit less tart. Common Wood Sorrel (O. acetosella) is found in most of Europe and Scurvy Grass Sorrel, a South American species (O. enneaphylla), was formerly used by sailors to ward off the vitamin deficiency disease scurvy.

Members of the Oxalis family are made tart by oxalic acid, a substance that inhibits absorption of those nutrients by the body. Oxalic acid can contribute to formation of kidney stones and gout but is only one of many contributing factors and probably not the strongest. Because these vegetables are generally consumed infrequently and in small quantity the oxalic acid content should not be a problem.