What Is a Pomelo and What Does It Style Like?

With greater than 2,500 kinds of citrus worldwide, it will be a disgrace to restrict your larder to lemons and limes. Fortunately, many grocers additionally inventory seasonal stunners like Sumo mandarins, yuzu, and pomelos. 

The latter are at their peak from late October to the top of February. A various fruit, pomelos are available a variety of colours and sizes, and go by all kinds of regional and varietal pseudonyms. You would possibly see them labeled as shaddock, pummelo, or Chinese language grapefruit.

Whether or not you’re lifelong pomelo lover or a citrus fanatic searching for your subsequent favourite, right here’s every part to find out about this vivid, candy fruit. 

What’s a pomelo?

Pomelos are spherical or pear-shaped citrus fruits indigenous to Southeast Asia. There are a number of varieties, together with honey, Valentine, and Chandler pomelos. They are often inexperienced or straw-colored, with thick white pith and orange, rosy, or off-white fruit inside.

The biggest member of the citrus household — pomelos’ scientific title is, fittingly, Citrus maxima — some pomelos are larger than volleyballs when totally grown. Count on diameters starting from six to 12 inches, relying on the variability. 

What does a pomelo style like?

Milder than lemons, and much much less bitter than grapefruits, pomelos are candy and gently tart. You possibly can peel them and eat them out of hand like a navel orange, or use them in all kinds of candy or savory citrus recipes — assume cocktails, crisp winter salads, savory marinades, or desserts. 

At Twin Tails, a New York Metropolis restaurant impressed by Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, pomelos deliver sweetness and tartness to cocktails and savory dishes like crispy rice salad, says Bryan Schneider, artistic director of Twin Tails and its father or mother firm, High quality Branded. “Pomelo additionally absorbs and takes on different flavors very nicely,” he provides. “It’s a very nice bridge between candy and savory.”

Pomelos vs. grapefruit

Pomelos and grapefruit are intently associated (grapefruits have been initially cultivated by crossing pomelos with oranges) and sometimes look very comparable, however there are variations between the 2. Pomelos are sweeter and fewer bitter than grapefruits, and have a tendency to have much less juice and fewer seeds.

“I’d describe pomelos as a milder, extra floral grapefruit,” says Schneider. “Pomelos are often a lot bigger than grapefruits, with a a lot bigger, pillowy pith.” 

When you take away the thick peel and pith, nevertheless, pomelos and grapefruits are sometimes almost the identical dimension.

The place to purchase pomelos

Search for pomelos in well-stocked grocery shops throughout the citrus fruit’s peak season, from late October by late February. 

Should you don’t see them in your native produce part, you may as well order pomelos on-line. California-based Pearson Ranch ships pomelos nationwide, and Ridge Island Groves, a family-owned operation in Florida, ships pomelos wherever within the continental United States.

Easy methods to retailer pomelos

Pomelos’ thick pith offers them an extended shelf life. To maintain them recent, retailer them in a cool and humid place, akin to a cold basement or within the fridge, for as much as one month.