Red Pomelo: Mysterious Citrus
After the holidays, Liz and I decided to jump back on to Southbeach. We’d both been lax in our eating habits during Thanksgiving/Christmas, and decided to start watching what we eat a little bit more.
As of last weekend, we’re now officially on the second phase (where fruit is back on the menu). While shopping for groceries last weekend, I loaded up on a bunch of stuff (canteloupe cantaloupe, grapes) and spotted this strange-looking thing.
The tag on the side said it was a “Red Pomelo,” but this was totally news to me. So far, I had never heard of such a thing. Intrigued, I decided to buy one… just to satisfy my curiosity.
Turns out, a pomelo is a citrus fruit, somewhere in between a grapefruit and an orange. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s exactly between a grapefruit and an orange. There are a few kinds (white, pink, red) but generally the red and pink are a bit sweeter.
There’s also a ton of this white stuff surrounding the actual pulp inside, which I guess is the inside of the peel. I’m sure there’s some technical term for it. Peeling it away is a very interesting sensation, as it’s all very spongey and spring-y.
Imagine an orange expending more of its energies trying to develop some kind of defense mechanism. And you pretty much have a pomelo.
In hindsight, slicing it like an apple probably wasn’t the best idea. It’s actually sectioned (in the same way that an orange is), so peeling would have been a little more productive.
The taste of a red pomelo is very light and sweet. It’s comparable to a grapefruit in texture, but has none of the sour/acidity of a grapefruit… and is closer to the orange in taste. Sort of like an orange with a slight hint of tang.
This was a fun little experiment. Up until now, I’d seen a few things that caught my eye in the fruit aisles (starfruit being another one of those mysterious objects). But for some reason, last weekend, I saw one of these and thought: “I have no idea what this is. I want to eat it.”
Dear Felix,While perusing your blog I noticed that you misspelled my name.In the future, when referring to me and/or my tasty attributes, please know that I am spelled: cantAloupe.Thanks!Your devoted blog reader,Mr. Cantaloupe
Mr. Cantaloupe (January 15, 2008 at 9:55 am)Dear Mr. Cantaloupe,I tried looking for typos in your comment, and could find none. Curse you, and your impeccable spelling! Curse you!-Felixps – youaredeliciousiloveyou
avoision (January 15, 2008 at 10:01 am)was the white part of the peel bitter like a grapefruit, or was it benign like an orange?
ben (January 15, 2008 at 11:19 pm)Totally benign, like an orange. It was very much like the underside of the peel – no bitterness, and very poofy.
avoision (January 15, 2008 at 11:24 pm)Actually, it is widely speculated that a grapefruit is a cross between a pomelo and some other type of citrus, not the other way around.
cw (December 12, 2008 at 11:22 am)“I have no idea what this is. I want to eat it.”That pretty much sums up my feelings when I spotted this fruit at my local grocery store. I bought 2 to share with friends for breakfast. Thanks for posting your experience with the fruit! We’ll be sure to try the peeling method rather than slicing.BTW, found you via google for Red Pomelo. You were the 2nd link! :D
SpiffyBug (January 4, 2009 at 11:48 am)Hope you enjoyed the Pomelo! And 2nd link on Google? Hot damn!Now, if only I could find a way to monetize all the “red pomelo” Google searches that are coming my way…
avoision (January 11, 2009 at 11:53 pm)The pomelo is indeed a very interesting fruit! I saw it for the first time today and the eternal child’s part of my brain went “Ooh! Big tangerine! Must buy one!”Mine was a rather dry, rather green, and rather uninteresting fruit though, but now that I know they exist I’m going to search for a red one, which look much tastier.
Eva (March 18, 2009 at 6:35 pm)Hi…I just bought a Red Pomelo myself out of curiosity. Of course I am currently goggling it first and your link seemed most interesting!I’m excited to try it…K
Kirsten (March 22, 2009 at 7:57 am)Same here. This morning while shopping in the grocery store my son saw this GIANT orange thingie and asked if he could have one. I checked it out not knowing what a Red Palmelo is… hmmmmm heavy in the hand, feels like a grapefruit, soft so it must be ripe I hope, smells like a grapefruit, expensive as all get out. I hope this taste good. I agreed, got him one. I found the largest one, best be the largest for the price I paid.We just had it after supper, I peeled it just like an orange/grapefruit. Yes the inside of the rind is spongy/poofy. I tasted the section skin bitter like a grapefruit, do not give to son I thought, he’ll never eat one again if I do. We peeled away the section skins and the pulp is very sweet like a red grapefruit. Enjoyed by both. Curiosity satisfied.
Eva P (March 28, 2009 at 7:32 pm)I live in SoCal. a relative of mine has two huge pomelo tree’s they are my favorite fruit. lol me wife and 4yo have been eating 1-2 between the 3 of us every other night. Pomelo is a great citrus fruit tasty like an orange not as (sour or bitter) as a grapefuit. Better peeled and de skinned
Blank (December 26, 2009 at 9:52 pm)A whole year has passed since your initial remarks re pomelos, I just saw one at my local supermarket and bought it for the same reason you did. Funny, but mine says “red” but in fact is green all over. Does that say “not ripe”? You neglected to mention the lovely scent it exudes when cut! Inside it looks just like your picture. Thanks! Old lady in BostonP.S. Hate to mention your misspelling of Aisles. But once a teacher……..
Adrienne (December 28, 2009 at 4:42 pm)Good catch on the typo, Adrienne! As an ex-English major, I should know better.Glad you also decided to experiment a bit, and took a chance on a new fruit. I’m always delighted to see new folks arrive here, especially given how old this post is.
avoision (December 29, 2009 at 8:42 am)My sister bought 2 of them a while back and paid $3 and some change for just one. We both went shopping to a Fruit & Veg Stand that she never knew and we found them there for $1.69 each. We both bought 2. The funny thing is that they were green and not yellow. Should we wait until they turn yellow or…does it matter?
Eve (November 13, 2010 at 10:27 pm)I bought two last night to share with the kiddies. Same reason as everyone else, “That looks weird, let’s eat it!” I am sure no one has Pomelos on their grocery list. Ha Ha Ha! Now that I have instruction, I intend to taste it! Thanks, folks!
Vaedra (January 30, 2011 at 7:05 am)