What on earth does this little bastard grapefruit have to do with pomelo?

The citrus family has a long-standing reputation for its chaotic bloodline. During the natural and artificial hybridization of citrus plants, plants with different flavors exchanged genes with each other, resulting in many varieties with different sour, sweet, and bitter flavors. People around the world have different preferences for them. However, there is a kind of citrus that combines multiple citrus flavors in one . To describe it in a gourmet recommendation style, it is "rich in flavor and layered." This is today's protagonist - grapefruit Citrus × paradisi.

Grapefruit | healthyfoodhouse.com

The "Forbidden Fruit" in the Bible

Grapefruit is also called pomelo . The × in the scientific name indicates that it is a hybrid. As for the origin of its lineage, there are different opinions. The more accepted theory in academia is that grapefruit originated from the West Indies and was first discovered in Barbados in 1750. At that time, it was only used for viewing and was called the forbidden fruit in the Bible. The name of grapefruit in English, grapefruit, comes from the fact that its fruits grow densely on the tree and look like bunches of grapes from a distance.

Grapefruit trees laden with fruit | balmoralparkgarden.blogspot.jp

In the early 19th century, grapefruit was introduced to Florida, USA, and then spread to the world with Central and North America as the planting center. It is afraid of frost and likes high temperature. It needs high effective accumulated temperature to bear fruit, so it is only suitable for cultivation in warm areas . Currently, China is the world's largest grapefruit producer, and the most important exporter is the United States.

The richness of bitterness

Grapefruit is most likely a natural hybrid of pomelo and sweet orange, and the fruit has the characteristics of both: it is about the same size as sweet orange but has a thicker skin, and its aroma is very much like a mixture of orange and grapefruit.

The origin and evolution of grapefruit | deathbytea.blogspot.jp

In addition to sweetness and sourness, the most notable feature of grapefruit is its bitter taste , which is rarely seen in other citrus fruits. This is the taste of flavonoids such as naringin. In addition to grapefruit, citrus fruits such as pomelo and rock sugar orange also contain naringin, so they have a bit of bitterness.

The sugar content of grapefruit is not low, averaging about 10.5%, which is similar to that of tangerines and sweet oranges. The acidity of about 0.22% is just a medium level among citrus fruits, but the overall taste is not so sweet due to the bitterness . However, the bitterness also brings a rich layering to its taste. The first thing that stimulates the tongue is bitterness and sourness, followed by a hint of sweetness. This unique aroma will fill the mouth, which may not be a good experience for people who hate bitterness, but it is a delicious taste for those who can accept it.

Few citrus fruits are as bitter as grapefruit | The Biggest Plant Dictionary

Like most other citrus fruits, the main edible part of grapefruit is the epidermal hairs on the endocarp , commonly known as the "pulp". There are many cultivated varieties of grapefruit. The earliest cultivated variety was the white-fleshed, seeded "Duncan" variety. Later, seedless, pink-fleshed, and red-fleshed varieties appeared through bud mutation. Like red-fleshed grapefruit, the pigments that make grapefruit flesh appear light red are lycopene and carotenoids , which are easy to accumulate in warm environments. Even now, grapefruit occasionally undergoes various mutations during fruit development. For example, the grapefruit with 80% download progress below may be a chimera mutation .

Some people say it looks like Pac-Man, what do you think it looks like? | reddit.com

Delicious, but there are taboos

The simplest way to eat grapefruit is of course to eat it directly. A classic way to eat it is to cut it horizontally with a knife, scoop out the flesh from the inner peel with a small spoon and eat it. If you are afraid of bitterness, you can sprinkle some sugar. If you eat a seeded grapefruit, you will often find that the seeds have sprouted in the fruit . This is caused by temperature changes during storage and transportation, and it will not have any adverse effects on health. It is okay to throw away the seeds but eat them. Of course, you can also plant the seeds in a flowerpot and let them continue to grow.

Share a grapefruit eaten by a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder | newhealthadvisor.com

Another major use of grapefruit is to make juice. In the finished grapefruit juice, some naringin is usually removed or sweeteners are added to reduce the bitterness. Although grapefruit juice tastes good, it cannot be taken with some drugs (such as nifedipine and buspirone). Some of the substances in them will interfere with the function of the drugs and enhance side effects. There are many types of drugs that will be affected by grapefruit juice. I will not list them one by one here. You can click **"Read original text"** to learn more. Not only grapefruit juice, there are many foods that will interact with drugs. When we take medicine, we must follow the doctor's advice and develop the habit of reading the instructions carefully to identify adverse reactions and drug contraindications .

The mechanism of action of grapefruit juice and drugs | FDA/@破土豆翻译

Grapefruit has a strong aroma, but is not particularly sweet. In addition to being eaten fresh, it is also very suitable for cooking. Salads and ice cream are dishes where this fruit often appears. Here is a simple and delicious lazy dessert : cut the grapefruit in half, sprinkle some white sugar on the cross section, and bake it in the oven for three minutes. Caramel will form a shiny shell on the surface of the grapefruit flesh, which not only adds fragrance but also alleviates bitterness . Similar to lemon, grapefruit also goes well with fish and meat. It is particularly refreshing when eaten with grilled fish, sashimi, raw ham and other meats.

Sugar-grilled grapefruit | realfood.tesco.com

Grapefruit Avocado Salad | glowkitchen.com

Grapefruit and prosciutto | namaham.com

Grapefruit with a Family

Grapefruit, a member of the citrus family, has the same promiscuous habits as its relatives. The hybrid offspring of the tetraploid grapefruit and pomelo is called oroblanco or sweetie, a triploid seedless fruit with high sweetness and low sourness.

Platinum grapefruit | mrgrape.com

The honeybell variety of the tangelo is a cross between the grapefruit and a variety of citrus . The Seminole is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange; the Orlando and Minneola are the offspring of the grapefruit Duncan and the tangerine Dancy.

Tangelo is a cross between grapefruit and mandarin orange | blog.orangesonline.com

Three generations of the Grapefruit family: Tangelo, Grapefruit, and Pomelo (from left to right) | chinesegrandma.com

Author: Desert Porcupine

Cover image source: healthyfoodhouse.com

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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