Or is it Pomelo? Or Pommelo? Or Shaddock?

One thing I loved about our CSA was that we got fruits we had never seen or tasted before. In an effort to shake things up a bit over the winter months, I decided to venture into the unknown on a recent grocery shopping trip. I grabbed a fruit I had never seen before, a red pummelo.

pummelo tag

The first thing that struck me was how light it was. It was fairly large, a little bigger than your average softball, but it felt more like a wiffle ball in terms of heft. I was intrigued.

I did a little internet research when I got home and found out that a pummelo (or pomelo or shaddock) is a South Asian fruit and tastes like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. Manatee loves grapefruits and I love oranges, so I was sure I picked a winner.

When I started peeling the pummelo, I couldn’t believe how thick the flesh was.

pummelo3

No wonder the fruit was so light! I ended up cutting it up because I realized peeling would take way too long.

pummelo4

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The taste? It tasted like a grapefruit minus the bitterness. It was very mild, almost too mild. Manatee didn’t care for it, but I think it’d be a great substitute for any recipes that call for grapefruit if you are not a grapefruit lover.

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Have you ever tried a pummelo? What are your thoughts?

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