pomelo?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these?

I found them to taste more bitter than grapefruits (and if you want good grapefruits, the Texas ruby
reds are hard to beat, especially when bought directly off the grower's truck....), and the pomelo I
ate had more segments than I wanted to deal with.

They're popular in southeast Asia, at least I see them a lot when I go to Singapore. If they come
from Asia, then we in the U.S. probably get the rejected ones that Asians wouldn't eat. Sort of like
Durian - it's great in Singapore, but the Durians we get here are from Thailand, were picked before
fully ripe, then frozen on the trip, and are just terrible when they gets here (compared to what you
get in Asia).

I suspect something similar happens with pomelos.

The U.S. does the same thing to Europe with oranges. When I was getting my MBA, a representative
from Minute Maid orange juice visited our class to give a lecture about the orange juice business,
to talk about quality control, distribution, sources, price fluctuations, quality grades, etc. He
said people in the U.S. have ready access to good oranges from Florida and California, and know what
a good orange is supposed to taste like, so Minute Maid has to take that into account when selling
OJ to the U.S. market.

On the other hand, Europeans, in general, have no clue what a *good* orange tastes like, so Minute
Maid ships their low-quality swill over there (they could never sell in the U.S.). The Europeans
gobble it up. Try some Minute Maid orange juice when you go to Germany - it's noticeably inferior.

My parents in Florida have frequent guests from Europe (my Dad does business there), and I remember
the guests were uniformly amazed at how citrus products in Florida tasted.

-A

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web
says they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if
these showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly
bad batch(?)

MK

I don't know about dumping, but pomelo should indeed be juicy, sometimes more sweet than others.
Past their prime by the sounds of it.

Sheena

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and

it was

Quoted message said:

*horrible*. Dry and tough, with very uneven segments that were very

hard

Quoted message said:

to separate. Everthing I read on the web says they're sweet and

juicy,

Quoted message said:

and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these showed up here in a Buffalo NY
supermarket because they were dumping

off a

Quoted message said:

particularly bad batch(?)

MK

We have plenty of Pomelos in Hawaii and I can tell you that as a kid, my grandmother's Pomelo tree
was so good. Huge juicy sweet fruit, originally from Tahiti, I think. However, we have a Pomelo tree
on our road that must be terribly sour because even the wild chickens won't taste it. I know that it
depends on what Pomelo tree one gets the fruit from. Sorry for your bad experience and no one should
be selling a junk Pomelo.

In many fruits, like avocado, Jack Fruit, guava etc, the tree one gets the fruit from-- Really
Matters. We have many wild trees of things here and we know to be selective. aloha, Thunder

smithfarms.comsmithfarms.comOpen ↗
Farmers & Sellers of 100%
Kona Coffee & other Great Stuff

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 11:24:06 -0500,

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web says
they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these
showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

I've seen them here (SW Ohio) in stores too, but haven't tried them. We did buy some on our
trip to Malaysia this summer in Ipoh-- along one of the streets was stand after stand
selling pomelos, white coffee and other snacks, all with young women standing outside to
entice the customers. One of them let us sample a piece of pomelo, and it was slightly
sweet, very juicy--not as strong citrusy flavored as an orange or grapefruit, IMO. When we
bought a couple, she asked if we wanted a sweet one or a sour/bitter one. (No idea how she
could differentiate!) We asked for sweet. It did have a very thick rind (my dad tells me
this too, can be stewed and eaten) and it was okay, nothing I'd kill for, but a good source
of liquid in that hot climate. Then again, I'm not that fond of oranges and grapefruit,
either. 🙂

Here's a pic of my sister and Dad buying pomelos:

shutterfly.comosi.jspOpen ↗

FWIW, the ones I see here are significantly smaller and rather uneven colored... I didn't
stop to see where they came from, but it's certainly a possibility that we're getting
inferior produce and/or that it doesn't travel well.

Ariane

MK asked about pomelos:

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web says
they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these
showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

I answered a similar question last March. Here, through the magic of Google, I do so again:

KathyBorn asked:

Quoted message said:

I bought a Pommelo at a Latin food market. Sort of like giant grapefruit. peeled the thick skin
off but the flesh was pretty dry and not too tasty. Did I get a bummer or is that what a Pommelo
is like?

That's what pomelo is like, but don't condemn it too quickly: The peel of the fruit can be candied,
so the extremely thick rind is what you should be buying pomelos for. There's a section about
pomelos in Elizabeth Schneider's excellent book _Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables, a Commonsense Guide_.
Here's an excerpt:

USE: Once you've removed all pith and membrane, you can use the pummelo as you would grapefruit
sections. Since the flesh tends to dryness, a light sugar syrup, poured warm over the sections,
will enhance the fruit.

PREPARATION: Every bit of the heavy pith and membrane must be removed from a pummelo before it is
edible. Cut off the ends of the fruit, score the thick slices, and peel off pith and rind together
in thick pieces, so you can candy it later on.

Hope this helps!

Bob

Smithfarms Pure Kona said:

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Oh my God, I've been looking for you, couldn't find you. I'd like to place an order. I hope you can
ship it to me by Christmas.

nancy

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web says
they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these
showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

I asked here some years ago, what did I buy? What's a pomelo? Just thought I'd try something new.
Well, I forget the answer, I seem to remember it was was a cross between a grapefruit and whatever.
First, by the time you peeled it, it was the size of an orange, the peel is so thick. Then, after
that waste of time, I was very not impressed.

nancy

Hey Michael:

I don't know what happened to the Pomelo's you got. However, they are sweeter than Grapefruit.
However, they do taste like Grapefruit. I know some people have posted that they are more bitter
than Grapefruit. I have never heard of a Pomelo being more bitter than Grapefruit. However, keep in
mind that the soil, any fertilizer, spermicide and weather does have its effect on the fruit.

In fact when I lived in Florida, I had fruit trees in my backyard. The first year I lived there the
Oranges were sweet and so juicy they were impossible to eat without making a mess. The second year
however, they same tree gave smaller oranges, they were not as sweet and they were pretty dry.

Well the lady that lived there before I had bought the house, would get the trees fertilized, and
treated every year. Also the year before I had bought the house, there had been more than the usual
rainfall for the entire year.

Once I moved in I never fertilized the trees, and it was a very very dry year. What I'm trying to
say is that all things being the same Pomelo is sweeter than Grapefruit.

Michael L Kankiewicz <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<Pine.GSO.4.05.10312041118490.1852-
[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web says
they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these
showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

MK

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web
says they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if
these showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

The ones I've had from the farmer's markets here in San Francisco have been great - sweet and juicy,
as you read. They're similar to grapefruit in flavor, but sweeter. The rind is very thick and foamy,
so it's hard to tell how ripe they are by squeezing them or sniffing them. I haven't had any that
were actually unripe, but some have had an annoying number of seeds that needed to be picked out.

The largest ones I've seen have been almost a foot in diameter (!), and even with the thick rind,
that comes out to be more fruit than you want to eat in one sitting.

Blake

--
The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

I lived in Hawaii next door to a woman who had pomelo's in her back yard. They were at their best,
picked right from the tree to my door. She gave me several, but I never asked for more. They didn't
have much taste to me. I see they sell these for an exhorbitant price at many grocery stores, even
Costco, and I'm always tempted to tell persons looking over these 'things' to forget it, but I hold
my tongue.

They didn't taste sweet and juicy to me -- even remotely.

Dee

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

*horrible*. Dry and tough, with very uneven segments that were very

hard

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to separate. Everthing I read on the web says they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look
almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket
because they were dumping off

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

particularly bad batch(?)

I asked here some years ago, what did I buy? What's a pomelo? Just thought I'd try something new.
Well, I forget the answer, I seem to remember it was was a cross between a grapefruit and
whatever. First, by the time you peeled it, it was the size of an orange, the peel is so thick.
Then, after that waste of time, I was very not impressed.

nancy

pomelo; pommelo; pummelo [pom-EH-loh] This giant citrus fruit is native to Malaysia (where it still
grows abundantly) and thought to be ancestor to the grapefruit. Like grapefruits, pomelos vary
greatly in color, size and shape. They range from cantaloupe-size to as large as a 25-pound
watermelon and have very thick, soft rind that can vary in color from yellow to pale yellowish-brown
to pink. The light yellow to coral-pink flesh can vary from juicy to slightly dry and from
seductively spicy-sweet to tangy and [censored]. The pomelo is also called shaddock after an English sea
captain who introduced the seed to the West Indies. The French name for this fruit is chadec. Choose
fruit that is heavy for its size, blemish-free and sweetly fragrant. Store in the refrigerator for
up to a week. Pomelos may be used in any way suitable for grapefruit. They're high in vitamin C and
potassium. The pomelo is also called Chinese grapefruit .

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd
edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon
```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Michael L Kankiewicz said:

Anyone ever eat one of these? I bought one on a whim yesterday and it was *horrible*. Dry and
tough, with very uneven segments that were very hard to separate. Everthing I read on the web says
they're sweet and juicy, and the segments look almost grapefruit like. I'm wondering if these
showed up here in a Buffalo NY supermarket because they were dumping off a particularly bad
batch(?)

For what it is worth, the local oriental market near me had a big display of blanco oro grapefruit.
I love these as they are very, very sweet and juicy. The sticker on the bottom of the fruits said
that they were pomelos grown in California. Very thick skinned and sweet and juicy.

They can be very bitter if picked early. When in season and fully ripe, quite sweet. The produce man
at the market suggested some salt. I would not do so as I love them straight up when in season.

What you got was a large lemon!

Ross Bernheim