Grapefruit
Contents:
Season for Grapefruit
Grapefruit Described
How to Buy and Store Grapefruit
How to Cook Grapefruit
Health Benefits of Grapefruit
Why Buy Natural and Organic Grapefruit
Season for Grapefruit December – April
Grapefruit Described
Not simply the infamous diet food (though it certainly is!); consider featuring the delectable grapefruit in salads, drinks, condiments and desserts. It’s signature tart and tangy, yet mild sweetness make this fruit explode on the palate like no other. The name of this citrus fruit comes from the fact that it grows in grapelike clusters. Most likely, you will come across the Marsh variety with its yellow skin and pale yellow or brilliantly pink flesh in your hunt for grapefruits (and its many offspring). The other – Duncan variety – is jammed with seeds and used mostly for juicing.
How to Buy and Store Grapefruit
The heavier your grapefruit is for its size, the thinner the skin is and juicier the flesh will be. Also, select your grapefruits for their firm, shiny skins, avoiding those showing wrinkles or soft spots. Don’t worry too much about the color of the skin; even a little green doesn’t necessarily mean the grapefruit is under ripe. That said, a pink or red blush on the skin can indicate a rosier flesh, and the deeper the flesh is in color, the sweeter it will be – generally speaking.
Keep your grapefruits unwrapped at room temperature for several days, as they will taste best this way. But if you know you won’t be getting to them in time, you can store them in your refrigerator crisper where they will keep fresh for two to three weeks.
How to Cook Grapefruit
Make sure to first wash your grapefruit to remove any bacteria, dirt or pesticides (if its conventional) that can transfer from your knife into the flesh you’ll be consuming. Then, for eating your grapefruit plain and simply, you may cut it horizontally and scoop out the flesh from between the segments. Alternatively, you can peel and eat your grapefruit like you would an orange. To broaden your culinary repertoire of this tart fruit, consider adding segments to green salads for a sweet tang or replacing your morning glass of OJ with fresh squeezed GJ. You can also dice grapefruit with cilantro, avocado and chili peppers for a delicious salsa or broil it with a brown sugar glaze.
Health Benefits of Grapefruit
Citrus fruit is, of course, burgeoning with vitamin C – and grapefruit is no exception. It’s also a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, calcium, iron and potassium. Renowned for being low in calories, grapefruits also happen to be loaded with anti-oxidants that are believed to help slow down the aging process and protect against some diseases – including heart disease and cancer. The juice from a grapefruit was ranked among the juices highest in antioxidant activity.
Why Buy Natural and Organic Grapefruit
Sure, you can get grapefruit from a can. But why would you want to do that when you know that canned foods contain a harmful chemical called BPA (Bisphenol-A) and probably have added sugars and preservatives, not to mention superfluous packaging? A fresh organic grapefruit may take a little more work to get into, but it’s healing powers and signature taste are more than worth it.
image: little blue hen
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