FoodFood InformationFruitCitrus
Today's superb grapefruit are a far cry from the original grapefruit,
which were called Pomelos or Shaddocks. The Pomelos and Shaddocks had greater
size, puffy, thick skins, lots of seeds, and very little juice, and were
quite sour.
Grapefruit are grown in many areas of the world, with the United States,
Israel, Spain, Greece, Brazil, and Cuba as the major producers. The United
States is by far the world's number one grower of grapefruit, with Florida
being our number one growing area, producing 75 percent of the United States
crop. Texas ranks a distant second. California and Arizona also grow grapefruit,
but on a limited scale. Though we export huge quantities to Europe and Japan,
supplies for the domestic market are more than adequate.
Although grapefruit is one of Florida's most important cash crops, it is
a fairly new enterprise. Grapefruit were first introduced in Florida in
the early 1800s, but for one hundred years they were sold only to tourists
as curios. It wasn't until the turn of the twentieth century that the first
grapefruit were shipped, in limited supply, to the northern cities. Florida
grapefruit are now shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada
as well as Europe, the Near East, and the Orient.
Florida grapefruit are grown in two areas of the state. Those that are grown
along the East Coast from just north of Palm Beach to just south of Daytona
are called Indian River grapefruit. Those that are grown in central Florida
are known as interior grapefruit. The Indian River section produces the
finest fruit. Most of those grown in the interior are sold to commercial
processors; they are rarely sold at retail markets. The few that are sold
as fresh fruit are packaged in five- or ten-pound mesh bags and sold in
supermarkets at modest prices.
Nearly all the Indian River grapefruit are marketed in retail stores or
shipped overseas. Each grapefruit from this area is branded with an inked
logo that reads INDIAN RIVER. The Indian River area, which runs parallel
to the Gulf Stream, is perfect for growing citrus fruit. The warm ocean
current provides ideal temperatures and shields the groves from frost damage
when the mercury doesn't cooperate. Often when areas much farther south
are hurt by severe frost, the Indian River section is spared because of
its proximity to the Gulf Stream.
The best area in the Indian River section is an island called Orchid
Island. There the world's finest grapefruit are grown. Every grapefruit
shipped from this island bears a gummed label reading ORCHID or ORCHID ISLAND.
Orchid grapefruit always top the market in price because they top the market
in quality.
Texas also grows some excellent grapefruit, specializing in red fleshed
fruit known as Star Rubies or Ruby Reds. For reasons of geography
and the resulting difference in freight costs, most Texas grapefruit are
shipped to the Midwest and the West Coast. Very few are sold in cities along
the eastern seaboard.
Grapefruit come in assorted sizes and in a variety of skin and flesh colors.
Some have seeds, others are seedless. The skins may be golden yellow, red-checked,
bronze, or russet. The flesh colors are either yellow, pink, or red. Some
grapefruit are as small as a fair-sized orange, others are as big as a melon-and
they come in all sizes in between. Until about fifty years ago, nearly all
grapefruit were of a variety called the Duncan. They were thin-skinned,
heavy, fine flavored, and full of juice, but also full of seeds.
Duncans are no longer shipped to market for table use but are grown
in limited supply and sold to canneries and processors. These firms pack
canned grapefruit sections and fresh or frozen-concentrated grapefruit juice.
The Duncans have been replaced by a seedless variety called the Marsh
Seedless. This variety originated from a chance seedling of the Duncan
variety that produced seedless grapefruit. The Marsh seedless is a yellow-fleshed,
seedless grapefruit that has fine flavor and texture and is fairly juicy,
but it isn't quite as juicy as the Duncan. All the golden fleshed grapefruit
sold to consumers for table use are of the Marsh Seedless variety.
Mutations of the Marsh Seedless have yielded fruit that have a pink rather
than a yellow-colored flesh. These are known as Marsh Pinks. When
darker pink strains were discovered and propagated, they yielded a red-fleshed
grapefruit that we called Ruby Reds. In recent years in Texas, growers have
come up with a new variety that is not only red-fleshed but has a reddish
skin, called the Star Ruby. Other lesser pink-red varieties are known
as Foster Pinks and Burgundy Reds. The pinks and the reds
usually command a 15 to 20 percent higher price than the yellow-fleshed
grapefruit. This premium exists only because the fruit is more colorful,
not because it is juicier or more flavorful. Pink, red, or yellow fleshed
fruit of comparable quality are similar in flavor and texture.
Grapefruit that have clear yellow skins are known as Goldens. Those with
slightly mottled skins are called Bronze, and those with heavily mottled
skins are called Russets. As with the issue of flesh color, skin color plays
no role in determining quality, and neither does size.
If neither size, skin color, nor flesh color are clues to quality, how does
one judge a fine grapefruit? You have to check the weight and shape of the
fruit, the firmness, the skin texture, the source of supply, and the time
of year. As with all other citrus fruits, the thinner the skin and the heavier
the fruit, the higher the juice content. A smooth as glass, slick feeling,
firm grapefruit is thin-skinned. One with a skin that has lots of pores,
that doesn't feel smooth, or is soft or puffy has a thick skin. The shape
of the fruit is also a clue to quality. A grapefruit that is flat at both
the stem and blossom ends is ideal, but one that is round is acceptable.
One that comes to a point at the stem end should usually be rejected since
that portion of the grapefruit may not be very juicy.
Time of year also determines the quality, flavor, and texture of the fruit.
While grapefruit are available twelve months of the year, the peak of season
is from January to June. The Florida and Texas season starts in October.
From October through December the grapefruit improves in quality, but it
does not reach flavor peak until January. The Florida and Texas grapefruit
season winds up in mid-June. In July, August, and September, the California-Arizona
grapefruit come on line. At best they are only pretty good, and not nearly
as good as those from Florida and Texas. During the summer months the price
of grapefruit becomes quite costly.
WHEN TO BUY: At peak December through June
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Heavy, thin-skinned fruit
HOW TO STORE: No refrigeration required if used within a week or two.
Deamer 5/97