The pomelo just seems...intimidating. We've never been so daring as to haul home one of these basketball-sized (OK, Nerf-basketball-sized) citrus fruits. What would we do with that five-pound ball of pith and rind if we didn't like i? Well, good thing that Serious Eats takes it on, because now we realize we've been missing something good. The Grocery Ninja tells us all about the citrus fruit called pomelo - including what it tastes like and how to pick a good one. We have it on our list now.
More from Serious Eats below, including kombucha, Amanda Hesser's departure from the New York Times, creamed spinach and more.
I miss pomelos! I ate them all winter when I lived in China for a year. So delicious...although the streetside fruit sellers would always cut them and peel them for me with their machete-like knives, which is good because on some pomelos the peels would easily be an inch thick. I don't think I would even know how to peel one here.
view christinatremill's profile
If you ask me, gin has *always* been in....my belly, that is.
view Nora Rocket's profile
i've never had a pomelo! i've seen 'em, but since i'm not the biggest grapefruit fan (my face scrunches up, too much sour!), i passed on the pomelo. however, if they're milder than a grapefruit, i might be in luck!
actually, other than the basic fruits any american youth knows, i haven't had much in the way of exotic. like, i'm even talking about papayas and starfruit! like, i've drank their processed juice, but never learned to peel/cut eat/slober them.
view kdkaboom's profile
Pomelos are my favorite fruit, or at least tied with mangoes. When I was 19 I worked on a kibbutz in Israel and we ate them straight from the orchard, but I couldn't find them for years here. Now, I can find them and even the not so great ones are pretty good. Just don't eat the skin between the sections--it is bitter!
view classiccook's profile
Oh--forgot to say to the Christina, they are super easy to peel. The skin is thick, but you just dig your finger in and it peels away easily!
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I love pomelos! They have the refreshing citrus taste but with delicate sweetness. And when buying them, don't be fooled by their softness -- it's not a sign of being overripe. Since the skin is so thick, that's what you're feeling and not the flesh itself. Do taste them when you can!
view bubble's profile
Less messy than an orange, less tart than a grapefruit. Love love love them!
view allie404's profile
I'm not a huge fan of pomelos, but I could see how their almost muted taste could appeal to people.
I won't turn down one if it's picked fresh off a tree, though.
view popcorn.for.dinner's profile
Thanks, classiccook--I'll have to buy one if I see one (not that likely at the neighborhood Publix, I'm afraid :) and give it a shot. Maybe the skins on the Asian ones were thicker.
An adventure, to be sure.
view christinatremill's profile