David and I picked up some produce tonight on our way home from dinner. A lot of what we got is citrus fruit: clementines, grapefruit, limes (for margaritas), and this mystery fruit. It looks like a green grapefruit, but it is from Israel and I don’t even know what it’s called. Has anyone ever seen these or eaten them?
It looks like an unripened Pomelo to me. When you go to eat it take a look at the gallery here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomelo#Gallery. Note how with this fruit you actually peel open the inside segments instead of eating the outer shell of the segment the way you do a Clementine. You could – if you wanted – but it is a lot like eating heavy duty paper.
I’ve had pomelos before, and they are a bit larger than this fruit. I did a quick google search and found that it is likely an oroblanco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oroblanco which is a hybrid of a grapefruit and a pomelo. It looks interesting. I’ll let you know how it is.
Cool – let me know how it is.
I have to admit tho that I get a little freaked out every time I read something like: “The oroblanco was patented by the University of California after its development at that university’s citrus experiment station in Riverside, California.”
Dunno why patented fruits and vegetables bother me more than other biotech patents.
I know what you mean, but for me, the freakiest patent I ever heard was that of a gene. When I was taking Genetics, my professor mentioned it, and I don’t remember which gene it was or who holds the patent, but here’s a related article for your reading displeasure:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1013_051013_gene_patent.html
Jaffa is also a type of an orange grown in Israel.
The poor fruit was dragged into political conflict between Iran & Israel last year, when shipment of ‘Fake’ Sweetie oranges were discovered in Iran, inside boxes labled “Made in China”
P.S. Ever heard of “Jaffa Cakes” ? They are popular in the UK. But I know they use Spanish Oranges instead.
I think I may have heard of them, but I do not know where. It’s interesting that the fruit shown in my picture has a “jaffa” sticker on it, but it doesn’t look like a jaffa orange at all.
I was pretty impressed with all the citrus to be had at the SF Ferry Building farmers market this Saturday… my personal citrus fave is the Japanese yuzu… have a tree in my backyard, a little one, but no fruit for a while…
I will have to look for that. I don’t think I have ever heard of it before. We have an Asian market with a massive produce section that may carry it.
I’ve never heard of that either. Interesting, though. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for them.
JD – If you happen to find them, let me know. I’ll look in the two markets that are on rt. 70 in Cherry Hill. I know you’ve been to the one behind D & Q, but have you been to the newer one in Barclay Farms? I have yet to check it out, but I’ve heard good things.
Yea I have been to both the HMart behind D&Q and the one in Barclay Farms. I prefer HMart to the Barclay Farms one but they are both good.
Just as a follow up, we had the Sweetie/Oroblanco last week… it was so good! The taste was notably sweeter than a grapefruit, and had a very unique flavor to it. It has been a couple of years since I’ve had a pomelo, so I’m not sure how to compare the flavor with a pomelo. My best suggestion is to give it a try if you ever see it in the produce section – you won’t be disappointed.
Yes, the oroblanco was very good! The limes are gone, made into some yummy, but tangy, margaritas, and there are only a few clementines and one grapefruit remaining. Looks like we’re going to need to refill on citrus!