As I walked through the Wegman’s produce department the last time I went grocery shopping something caught my eye. A bin of what appeared to be oversized grapefruit sat among the other citrus fruits. A sticker informed me that they were red pummelos. Since I work with plants I am a sucker for unique fruits and plant products. I knew I had to buy one. Sure they cost $2.99 each, but if I didn’t get one now I would always wonder what red pummelo tastes like.
I picked one up. And it was seriously heavy. It was the size of a cantaloupe, though it seemed to weigh more (I later learned that the heavier the pummelo the better it tastes).
Tonight I posed for a portrait with my red pummelo.
A citrus fruit of unusual size.
Here is a lineup of household items that give some perspective to this defensive tackle-sized hesperidium.
A baseball, film canister, red pummelo, and gallon of milk.
Since the pummelo looked like a grapefruit I decided to eat it in that manner. I sliced it in half and used a spoon to remove the endocarp. The taste was exceptionally good. While strong hints of grapefruit flavor were present, the bitterness usually associated with grapefruit was not. Instead a light, sweet sugary flavor predominated. Based upon the taste of this fruit, if pummelos were not so expensive I would purchase them frequently.
A sliced and cansumed pummelo (it makes the full-sized dinner plate look small).
After eating the fruit I decided to look it up to find out more information about it. It turns out pummelo is Citrus maxima, and that red pummelo is a cultivar of that species. The fruit is high in potassium and vitamin C. Most people peel the fruit like an orange to eat it. Pummelos also go by many other common names. Citrus maxima is one of the parents of grapefruit (Jamaican sweet orange + Pummelo= Grapefruit) , and it is also one of the parents of tangelos (Tangerine + Pummelo = Tangelo). I wonder why grapefruit is more common than pummelo? It must be easier to produce and/or ship. I think the taste of pummelo is superior.
Red pummelo was just added to the list of things I like.
*Note: The image preview for this video is a terrible selection. It totally ruins the comedic effect of the surprise ending. You should see a picture of the little girl just looking at the camera.
