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 greatersize, puffy, thick skins, lots of seeds, and very little juice, and werequite 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 UnitedStates is by far the world's number one grower of grapefruit, with Floridabeing our number one growing area, producing 75 percent of the United Statescrop. 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 isa fairly new enterprise. Grapefruit were first introduced in Florida inthe early 1800s, but for one hundred years they were sold only to touristsas curios. It wasn't until the turn of the twentieth century that the firstgrapefruit were shipped, in limited supply, to the northern cities. Floridagrapefruit are now shipped to all parts of the United States and Canadaas well as Europe, the Near East, and the Orient.
Florida grapefruit are grown in two areas of the state. Those that are grownalong the East Coast from just north of Palm Beach to just south of Daytonaare called Indian River grapefruit. Those that are grown in central Floridaare known as interior grapefruit. The Indian River section produces thefinest fruit. Most of those grown in the interior are sold to commercialprocessors; they are rarely sold at retail markets. The few that are soldas fresh fruit are packaged in five- or ten-pound mesh bags and sold insupermarkets at modest prices.
Nearly all the Indian River grapefruit are marketed in retail stores orshipped overseas. Each grapefruit from this area is branded with an inkedlogo that reads INDIAN RIVER. The Indian River area, which runs parallelto the Gulf Stream, is perfect for growing citrus fruit. The warm oceancurrent provides ideal temperatures and shields the groves from frost damagewhen the mercury doesn't cooperate. Often when areas much farther southare hurt by severe frost, the Indian River section is spared because ofits proximity to the Gulf Stream.
The best area in the Indian River section is an island called OrchidIsland. There the world's finest grapefruit are grown. Every grapefruitshipped from this island bears a gummed label reading ORCHID or ORCHID ISLAND.Orchid grapefruit always top the market in price because they top the marketin quality.
Texas also grows some excellent grapefruit, specializing in red fleshedfruit known as Star Rubies or Ruby Reds. For reasons of geographyand the resulting difference in freight costs, most Texas grapefruit areshipped to the Midwest and the West Coast. Very few are sold in cities alongthe 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. Somegrapefruit are as small as a fair-sized orange, others are as big as a melon-andthey come in all sizes in between. Until about fifty years ago, nearly allgrapefruit 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 grownin limited supply and sold to canneries and processors. These firms packcanned grapefruit sections and fresh or frozen-concentrated grapefruit juice.The Duncans have been replaced by a seedless variety called the MarshSeedless. This variety originated from a chance seedling of the Duncanvariety 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 grapefruitsold to consumers for table use are of the Marsh Seedless variety.
Mutations of the Marsh Seedless have yielded fruit that have a pink ratherthan a yellow-colored flesh. These are known as Marsh Pinks. Whendarker pink strains were discovered and propagated, they yielded a red-fleshedgrapefruit that we called Ruby Reds. In recent years in Texas, growers havecome up with a new variety that is not only red-fleshed but has a reddishskin, called the Star Ruby. Other lesser pink-red varieties are knownas Foster Pinks and Burgundy Reds. The pinks and the redsusually command a 15 to 20 percent higher price than the yellow-fleshedgrapefruit. This premium exists only because the fruit is more colorful,not because it is juicier or more flavorful. Pink, red, or yellow fleshedfruit of comparable quality are similar in flavor and texture.
Grapefruit that have clear yellow skins are known as Goldens. Those withslightly mottled skins are called Bronze, and those with heavily mottledskins are called Russets. As with the issue of flesh color, skin color playsno role in determining quality, and neither does size.
If neither size, skin color, nor flesh color are clues to quality, how doesone judge a fine grapefruit? You have to check the weight and shape of thefruit, the firmness, the skin texture, the source of supply, and the timeof year. As with all other citrus fruits, the thinner the skin and the heavierthe 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 shapeof the fruit is also a clue to quality. A grapefruit that is flat at boththe 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 sincethat 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 seasonis from January to June. The Florida and Texas season starts in October.From October through December the grapefruit improves in quality, but itdoes not reach flavor peak until January. The Florida and Texas grapefruitseason winds up in mid-June. In July, August, and September, the California-Arizonagrapefruit come on line. At best they are only pretty good, and not nearlyas good as those from Florida and Texas. During the summer months the priceof 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.
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