27 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

It's white grapefruit season -- you know, the grapefruit that tastes like grapefruit instead of that insipid, pink thing in the stores most of the year. Our household goes through a dozen a week, slicing it in half to broil under some brown sugar, squeezed into Blinkers, Colonials, Nevadas, and more, and, of course, eaten peeled and supremed. Just killed one standing over the sink that way.

Surely you know some more ways to eat these glorious fruits while they're in season.

[weinoo]

What are you paying for them? My local grocery doesn't stock them, but I'm sure a walk to Whole Foods will yield some - probably at $2 a pop.

[Chris Amirault]

Yeah, they cost 2 bucks each.

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[lonebaker]

The white grapefruit sounds amazing.

I've become addicted to a Super Citrus Smoothie which I read about at 'Joy the Baker' blog; in turn, she was inspired by Sunset Magazine. It's so simple and nutritious: freshly squeezed grapefruit and orange juice; honey; yogurt; frozen bananas and ice. Delish.

[vice]

Last winter, I grew quite fond of this mixed citrus salad that includes white grapefruit:

Peel an assortment of citrus--grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime, etc--leaving no pith behind and slice into thin wheels. Arrange in 1 layer on a platter. Remove the pits from a handful of oil-cured black olives, roughly chop them, and sprinkle over the citrus. Season all with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of good quality olive oil. Optional: add very-thinly sliced radish or fennel along with the olives.

[David Ross]

I've got to go buy more white grapefruit today. Our local markets usually have white and two varieties of pink grapefruit.

Cut into supremes the white grapefruit is a delicious, tangy/sweet garnish for seared sea scallops. I was doing some different things with sea scallops recently and I was looking for something that would counter the very rich, buttery taste of the scallops. I tried cutting the scallops into thin slices and serving them raw as a Crudo served with grapefruit slices. The raw scallops were too timid for the grapefruit, but when I seared them in a hot pan with butter, it tightened up the texture and rich flavor of the scallops and they worked beautifully with the grapefruit. The only garnish was a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

I usually don't pair seafood with fruit but this was delicious.

[Doodad]

Maybe salsa de fruta style with vinegar, salt and hot pepper flakes? Would make a good side with mex food.

[LindaK]

Hmm, I wonder if these would work in a grapefruit-avocado salad. If you've never tried it, I know it sounds unlikely but it's a delicious combination. I've always used pink grapefruit but will look for one of these and give it a try.

[weinoo]

Okay, my white grapefruit from Whole Foods came in at $1.90. Of course, that's only because I kept the weight below a pound - they're $1.99 a pound, and I'll bet there were some in there that cost $4.

But really, no different than the price of a pomelo.

Broiled with brown sugar sounds better every minute.

[prasantrin]

Make a tart with creme fraiche filling, or plain cheesecake will do.

Mix some supremed grapefruit (diced or whole, depending on how much work you want to do later) with a bit of sugar and maybe some fresh mint and let it sit for a bit.

Top cheesecake/tart with the grapefruit. If it's diced, just plop it on, but if you have whole segments, then you can arrange it in concentric circles. with both pink and white grapefruit.

You could also top the grapefruit with sugar and then put it under the broiler to caramelize the sugar. That makes a very nice tart.

This is actually prettier with both pink and white grapefruit, but whatever floats your boat!

[Peter the eater]

How about a grapefruit granita/granité/slushy?

[weinoo]

How about a grapefruit granita/granité/slushy?

Of course, the grapefruit/Campari sorbet,in is great...



No reason why it can't be made with white grapefruit...might need to up the sugar a smidge.

[Nishla]

I really like grapefruit in fennel salad. I supreme the grapefruit over a bowl to catch the juice, and use that with some honey and olive oil as the dressing, maybe a dab of mustard too. You can also add shaved parmesan if that floats your boat.

[heidih]

Hmm, I wonder if these would work in a grapefruit-avocado salad. If you've never tried it, I know it sounds unlikely but it's a delicious combination. I've always used pink grapefruit but will look for one of these and give it a try.

Linda- how do you dress the salad? I picked up some lovely Hass avocados at $1 each and have this bounty:


Plus these navels for a sweet and still citrus counterpoint:

[weinoo]

Are those Meyer lemons?

[heidih]

Are those Meyer lemons?

The first pic are white grapefruit and the second are some pretty good sized navel oranges (the ones with the belly button)

[ChrisTaylor]

Hmm, I wonder if these would work in a grapefruit-avocado salad. If you've never tried it, I know it sounds unlikely but it's a delicious combination. I've always used pink grapefruit but will look for one of these and give it a try.

Unlikely? I reckon it'd work. Maybe throw some cucumber in there too. Just use fairly small quantities or cut the pieces small, at least. At the very least I reckon a grapefruit vinaigrette would be nice.

Incidentally, if the thought's crossed your mind at all, I've tried making grapefruit curd tarts before. Didn't work so well, in case you had that idea. Maybe there's just something about lemon juice that stands up better to the curd-making process than grapefruit, orange, mandarin, etc.

EDIT

Just cracked open Larousse Gastronomique because it's on hand. It suggests a grapefruit sorbert (served in the frozen grapefruit skins), grapefruit salad (in addition to grapefruit it contains apple, celery, lettuce and a yoghurt or light oil-based dressing) and 'grapefruit with prawns'--cook some prawns and toss them together with cucumber, dress with a vinaigrette made from vinegar, peanut oil, sugar, soy sauce, ground ginger, ketchup and honey and add some grapefruit segments.

Edited by ChrisTaylor, 08 January 2011 - 05:30 PM.

[Pierogi]

Grapefruit/avocado salad is the bomb. Supreme the grapefruit, and use the juice for the dressing. Toss with the avocado, some chile powder or ground dried chiles (or red pepper flakes), a bit of ground cumin or coriander (not both), maybe a hint of minced garlic, S&P, a tiny pinch of sugar and light olive oil or other light oil. Taste, if you need more acid, add some mild vinegar or another citrus juice. Add some thinly sliced sweet onion (red, if you can find a sweet one, 'cuz it looks purdy) and some julienned jicama. Put that over chopped romaine, and garnish with shaved queso anejo or Parmesan. Good eats, amigo.

[Pam Brunning]

I thought you could not buy white grapefruit in the US. I read that Texas had banned the growing of all but the ruby red variety that has no grapefruit flavour. In the UK white ones are available all year from all round the world, retailing for about 30cents, looks like your being ripped off.

Edited by Pam Brunning, 09 January 2011 - 04:19 AM.

[weinoo]

Are those Meyer lemons?

The first pic are white grapefruit and the second are some pretty good sized navel oranges (the ones with the belly button)

Are you in Florida, or the dessert southwest?

[heidih]

Are those Meyer lemons?

The first pic are white grapefruit and the second are some pretty good sized navel oranges (the ones with the belly button)

Are you in Florida, or the dessert southwest?

I am 6 miles inland from the ocean in Los Angeles.

The salad idea with avocado is on deck for today. Thank you all!

[heidih]

I made a salad with the grapefruit, orange, pears, avocado, onion, dried cranberry, fresh red jalapeno, walnut oil, salt & pepper, and fresh mint - then sprinkled with a bit of crushed peanuts and served with a few shrimp and toasted Vietnamese black sesame rice cracker. It was an interesting combination and I look forward to the rest of the bowl as the day goes on. I will probably add the shrimp roughly chopped into the salad to marinate and then scoop it up with the rice crackers. The grapefruit is an old tree and the fruit though juicy and flavorful is classically bitter. I like the bitter contrasted with the sweet and spice and next time will omit the oil, sub fish sauce for salt, and add lime juice- taking it firmly into SE Asian territory.

Once I tasted it I immediately thought of Vietnamese pomelo salad and will give that a go soon using the grapefruit. It will be more bitter but I enjoy that.

[ChrisTaylor]

Do you have Advanced Bread and Pastry? There's a nice looking chocolate and white grapefruit dessert in there.

[Dave the Cook]

I thought you could not buy white grapefruit in the US. I read that Texas had banned the growing of all but the ruby red variety that has no grapefruit flavour. In the UK white ones are available all year from all round the world, retailing for about 30cents, looks like your being ripped off.

A scan of Texas legal statutes and regulatory rules doesn't turn up anything regarding a ban on white grapefruit production. However, the red grapefruit is the "state fruit," and growers' groups, in conjunction with the state, have made the practice of growing whites a non-starter. If you can benefit from cooperative advertising and public relations, why try to swim upstream? In other words, it's not that it's illegal to grow white varieties in Texas; it's that no one bothers.

Texas is the second- or third-largest US state in terms of production, depending on the year and which documents you consult. Florida produces the most -- more than Texas, Arizona and California combined (grapefruit isn't commercially produced anywhere else in the US). Most of the crop is juiced, and most is exported (the US is by far the world's leading exporter), whether as juice, whole fruits or segments. That includes a large quantity of white fruit to places like Japan, where it's much more popular than pink/red. So it seems that whites are more valuable as an export, making it relatively scarce in the country where most of it is grown. Of course, consumer preference for pinks and reds drives this.

Still, I'm surprised by the price of whites in New York and New England. I can get white grapefruit pretty much year-round here in Atlanta. I have a receipt from 9 December 2010 showing 59 cents each.

[Chris Amirault]

Gotta get back to the store. Plowed through the grapefruits, which were excellent, and now are busy realizing that these tangelos aren't grapefruit. Or even decent tangelos.

[heidih]

I made a salad with the grapefruit again today and did sub fish sauce for salt, added lime, and used a bit of a very flavorful honey. I also added shrimp in. The bitterness was tamed just enough and the overall flavor combo is lovely.

[andiesenji]

Don't forget the peel. It is lovely candied. It needs to be parboiled more than orange or lemon to reduce the bitterness in the pithy inner part.

I parboil it in 5 changes of water, simmering it for 10 minutes each time, then draining it and allowing it to dry for several hours before putting it into the simple syrup.

The peel of the white grapefruit is much more aromatic than the pink or red varieties.

Edited by andiesenji, 16 January 2011 - 03:01 PM.

[manwith8ovens]

It's white grapefruit season -- you know, the grapefruit that tastes like grapefruit instead of that insipid, pink thing in the stores most of the year. Our household goes through a dozen a week, slicing it in half to broil under some brown sugar, squeezed into Blinkers, Colonials, Nevadas, and more, and, of course, eaten peeled and supremed. Just killed one standing over the sink that way.

Surely you know some more ways to eat these glorious fruits while they're in season.

I think it will be great to make ceviche(aka cebiche) or poke (Hawaii)dishes.

Live clams (razor clams, littleneck, Geoduck or cherrystone) (slivers cut)
or fresh tuna/salmon/sea bass (cubes cut)

grapefruit wedges with peels and juice
Lemon juice
Sea salt and ground pepper
Brown sugar
(enough to cure the clams for 3o minutes. Less time for fish)
---------------------------------
Japanese seaweeds (soaked)
Agar Agar (soaked)
--------------------------------
Onion
Grapefruit wedges
Yellow Chili
Coriander
Ginger/Garlic
Light soy sauce
Fish sauce
Corn oil
(Use stone mortar to ground above ingredients)

Mix grounded ingredients, seaweeds and agar agar to cured clams and serve.
Enjoy!
Note: Discard excess cure