Woman's Institute Library of Cookery. Volume 5: Fruit and Fruit Desserts; Canning and Drying; Jelly Making, Preserving and Pickling; Confections; Beverages; the Planning of Meals

by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

GRAPEFRUIT

78. Grapefruit, also known as shaddock, is a large, pale-yellow fruit belonging to the citrus group. One variety, known as the pomelo, is the kind that is commonly found in the market. It is slightly flattened on both the blossom and stem ends.

Grapefruit has a typical flavor and a slightly bitter taste and contains neither a great deal of sugar nor a large amount of acid. Because of its refreshing, somewhat acid pulp and juice, it is highly prized as a fruit to be eaten at breakfast or as an appetizer for a fruit cocktail. It is also much used in the making of fruit salads.

79. SELECTION OF GRAPEFRUIT.--Grapefruit should be selected with care in order that fruit of good quality may be obtained. Some persons think that to be good grapefruit should be large, but it should be remembered that size is not the factor by which to judge the quality. The fruit should be heavy for its size and the skin should be fine-grained and even. Coarse-grained skin, as a rule, is thick and indicates that the pulp is rather pithy and without juice.

80. PREPARATION OF GRAPEFRUIT.--Different ways of serving grapefruit are in practice, and it is well that these be understood. This is generally considered a rather difficult fruit to eat, but if care is exercised in its preparation for the table it can be eaten with comfort. For preparing grapefruit, a narrow, sharp-bladed paring knife may be used. As is well known, a grapefruit is always cut apart half way between the stem and the blossom ends and a half served to each person.

81. One method of preparing grapefruit consists in cutting the skin in such a way that the seeds can be taken out and the pulp then easily removed with a spoon. To prepare it in this way, cut the grapefruit into halves, and then, with a sharp knife, cut around the pithy core in the center, cutting off the smallest possible end of each of the sections. With this done, remove the seeds, which will be found firmly lodged near the core and which can be readily pushed out with the point of the knife. Then cut down each side of the skin between the sections so as to separate the pulp from the skin. Around the edge next to the outside skin, cut the pulp in each section with a single jab of the knife, taking care not to cut the skin between the sections. The entire pulp of each section, which will be found to be loose on both sides and ends if the cutting is correctly done, can then be readily removed with a spoon.

82. In another method of preparing this fruit for the table, all the skin inside of the fruit is removed and nothing but the pulp is left. This method, which is illustrated in Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, requires a little more time and care than the previous one, but the result justifies the effort. After cutting the grapefruit into halves, remove the seeds with a sharp knife, as shown in Fig. 5. Then, with the same knife, cut the grapefruit from the skin all the way around the edge, as in Fig. 6; also, cut down each side of the skin between the sections, so as to separate the pulp from the skin, as in Fig. 7. With the pulp loosened, insert a pair of scissors along the outside edge, as in Fig. 8, and make a slanting cut toward the core.

Then, as in Fig. 9, cut the core loose from the outside skin. Repeat this operation for each section. If the cutting has been properly done, the core and skin enclosing the sections may be lifted out of the grapefruit, and, as shown in Fig. 10, will then be in the form of a many-pointed star. As only the pulp remains in the outside skin, the grapefruit can be eaten without difficulty.

83. SERVING GRAPEFRUIT.--When grapefruit has been properly ripened, it is rather sweet, so that many persons prefer it without sugar; but when sugar is desired, the fruit is very much more delicious if it is prepared some time before it is to be served, the sugar added to it, and the fruit placed in a cool place. If this is done in the evening and the grapefruit is served for breakfast, a large amount of very delicious juice will have collected through the night. At any rate, grapefruit is best if it is sweetened long enough before it is served to give the sugar a chance to penetrate.