Mellow Pomelo

Answer to Random Food Quiz #1:

That was a pretty quick round of Food Quiz (see previous post if you don't know what I'm talking about.) Many thanks to all who made a guess, especially those who ventured to leave comments.
My co-worker 'Sunshine' figured out that this funny fruit is a pomelo. She wins... a jar of pickles! But they won't be ready for another two weeks, says my sous pickle chef husband.

A little bit about this lovely fruit.


It was a tricky quiz because not all pomelos look the same. The first time I laid eyes on some-- there were 3 or 4 rolling around in the trunk of my college roommate's mom's car. (Remember that, Pamela?) And they were the size of small beach balls. They looked pretty much the same as a grapefruit, except for their enormous girth.

A few years later, when Joe and I taught English in Taiwan,I was introducted to a new variety. It was green, shaped like a pear and only a little larger than the average grapefruit. These fruit are really popular during the moon festival and little kids like to wear half the spongy rind as a hat. An odd practice that Joe would never be able to imitate because if he's in the same room as someone ripping one of these babies apart, he goes into an endless sneezing fit.

Poor guy. And pomelos are really so yummy. The little juicy pouches are more durable than most citus fruit, so you can pull apart and peel the big sections without getting all sticky. I used to peel the fruit and leave it out uncovered for a couple hours. This would dry out the (intensely bitter) inner skin and make it really easy to remove.

The pomelo in the pictures is one I bought in Champaign while were in grad school. I was shocked to discover a ruby interior, yet another variation. I'm sure there's probably still other kinds of pomelos out there, too.