Caribbean crossover Grapefruit was first found in Barbados about 300 years ago as an accidental hybrid of an orange and pomelo. Its name is believed to come from the fact that grapefruits grow clustered together like bunches of grapes. –tastingtable.com
You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.
Do you like grapefruit? It’s ok if you don’t. As a kid I did not like it myself - any citrus for that matter. But now that I am older, I love it. In fact, that is one of the things I appreciate about wintertime, the citrus fruit that comes up from Florida or California. Grapefruit and mandarin oranges are the best!
Grapefruit is a citrus fruit that is big, round (about the size of a softball) and yellow on the outside, but on the inside is anywhere from white to light pink to really dark red. It has big ole seeds that are easy to take out. Some people like to eat it with salt. (Personally, I never understood that one.)
According to one site I researched, grapefruit is 92% water, has great Vitamins C and A, and can help lower your blood pressure and bad cholesterol - if you don’t put salt on it. This fruit grows on trees that can reach up to 25 feet high and beyond. The leaves of the trees are a shiny dark green, and before the fruit is formed, there are pretty white blossoms.
As the quote above explains, this fruit was first found in Barbados about 300 years ago as an accidental hybrid of an orange and a pomelo. Now, unless you live in Southeast Asia, you may not know what a pomelo is. I had to look it up.
The pomelo is a citrus fruit that is pale green or yellow when ripe. Its flesh is sweet and white. The rind is very thick and spongy. It is the largest citrus fruit, usually 15–25 centimeters (5.9–9.8 in) in diameter. It weighs 1 to 2 kilograms (2.2 to 4.4 lb). Reminds me of a small bowling ball! I wouldn’t like to stand under one of those trees on a windy day!!
Well, back to the grapefruit. Over the years fruitgrowers have experimented with the plants to grow different varieties of grapefruit. Some are really sweet and some are quite tart. That is also why some are different colors inside. Apparently the darker the inside, the more health benefits you receive.
This reminds me of the many fruits we will enjoy in Heaven. Did you know the Bible talks about this? In Revelation 22:2 it says, “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Who knows, God may even allow us to help in the creation of new fruits!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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