#POMELO VS GRAPEFRUIT TASTE SKIN#

Pomelos, along with their mating partner, sweet oranges, were a favorite snack of sailors, thanks to their precious stores of scurvy-fighting vitamin C. Still, the plants didn’t stay rooted in place. A Different WorldĪs one of the world’s original – or, in other words, non-hybridized – fruits, pomelos first started sprouting up in their native Southeast Asia.

#POMELO VS GRAPEFRUIT TASTE SKIN#

Yet the unique qualities of these two fruits goes more than skin deep. And the fruits are famous for their burst of bright red or pink on the inside, making for a beautiful color pop that’s much flashier than the humble pomelo’s. Grapefruit, on the other hand, offer much more flesh for the pound, with nearly the entirety of the fruit’s insides made up of the edible stuff. The pomelo also includes only roughly two-to-four segments of fruit, which is typically seen in the same limey green as its skin. While their structures include the same parts, they appear inside the fruits in different ratios, with pomelos containing much thicker pith than their grapefruit children. Internally, the two fruits differ, as well. And, while a pomelo tends toward yellow as it ripens on the tree, the fruit is more typically seen rocking a lime green skin. On the outside, grapefruits are usually painted a pleasant yellow-orange. Grapefruits, on the other hand, are the still-large-for-a-fruit-but-objectively-much-smaller size of a human fist, on average, typically topping out at a diameter of around 5 or 6 inches. In fact, the pomelo fruit is the largest member of the citrus fruit family, capable of growing as large as a watermelon if left unchecked and in the right conditions. Most obvious among the fruits’ differences are the aesthetic adjustments made between parent and child.Īt a glance, the pomelo – or, sometimes, pommelo or pummelo – is much larger than its progeny. Still, like many children of well-known citizens, the grapefruit has found ways to step outside of its famous parents’ shadow, with the grapefruit and pomelo sporting a number of notable differences. But both also pack in their fair share of crucial antioxidants and plenty of fiber, making them excellent choices for everything from heart to kidney health.Īnd when it comes to structure, it’s tough to tell the difference, with grapefruit and pomelos both boasting tough rinds, a layer of fluffy pith and a flesh that breaks down into chewy segments that are full-to-bursting with the plants’ unique juice. Most notably, both fruity options are wonderful sources of vitamin C. Since both are members of the citrus fruit family, they carry many of the same health benefits of their breed. So there’s actually a fair amount of traits shared between the grapefruit and pomelo. (More on that later.)Īnd unlike most fruity unions, prearranged by man in order to spawn ever-tastier or sturdier spawn, the hybridization of the two fruits was all natural, thanks to their complimentary genealogy, close natural proximity and citrusy background. Grapefruits are the offspring of pomelos and sweet oranges, two citrus fruits who first met in Southeast Asia and Southern China – though went on to travel the world together. In fact, grapefruit isn’t pomelo’s twin at all, but rather a long lost child of the foundational fruit. Marinade: The acid in pomelo juice tenderizes raw meat, making it a perfect marinade for meat or fish.In the great soap opera of Earth, the grapefruit would undoubtedly play the long-lost twin of the pomelo – and we’re sure all the other fruits would be clutching their peels with shock.īut there’s no reason to be so dramatic: Pomelos and grapefruits have plenty in common, but there are enough different qualities among them to ensure each would be the star of its own show. Juice: You can drink fresh pomelo juice on its own, or use it instead of grapefruit juice in cocktails like the Paloma or the Greyhound.ĥ. Candy: Make candied pomelo peel and coat it in chocolate.Ĥ. Fruit salad: Add pomelos to both sweet and savory fruit salads to add a punchy burst of citrus flavor.ģ.

Marmalade: Make pomelo marmalade the same way you would orange marmalade.Ģ. You can remove the pomelo's easy-to-peel skin and thick pith with your hands, but it's easier to use a small paring knife if you want to cut perfect pomelo segments for, say, a fruit salad. In general, pomelos taste very much like grapefruits. There are many different varieties of wild and cultivated pomelos, and each varies in tartness, sweetness, and bitterness. The pomelo originated in Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Indonesia, specifically) and has likely been cultivated in China for thousands of years. A pomelo ( Citrus grandis) is a citrus fruit that is closely related to a grapefruit.

Pomelo vs grapefruit taste