Pomelo - How To Find, Choose, Eat, & Use It - Diversivore

How to Find, Choose, & Use

PomeloCitrus maxima

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The Basics

How-To Find/Choose/PrepCooking & Culinary InfoNutrition & Science

• What Is It?

  The large, sweet, thick-skinned fruit a species of citrus (family Rutaceae). Pomelos have been crossed to produce numerous citrus hybrids, most notably grapefruit.

• Seasonality

  WINTER

• Flavour Profile

  Sweet/Sour/Bitter, acidic (juice), highly fragrant

• Other Names

  Latin: Citrus grandisEnglish: Pommelo, Pummelo, Shaddock, Shaddick, Pamplemousse (not to be confused with grapefruit).Chinese - 柚子 - yòuzi (Mandarin), 碌柚 - luk jau (Cantonese)Japanese - ブンタン - buntan

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Pomelo FAQs

How Do You Eat a Pomelo?

This skin and pith of a pomelo is very thick, but there's not much trick to eating one.  Simply peel the outside off (a knife helps get things started) to reach the grapefruit-like center. Like any citrus, the individual segments are surrounded by a membrane, though this is quite thick and tough in most pomelos. Luckily, it can be peeled off fairly easily to reach the soft fruit inside.

Is Pomelo Sweet or Sour?

Ideally, a bit of both.  The flavour should be similar to a good grapefruit in that respect, though pomelos are generally a bit less bitter.  Note that quality can vary quite a bit, and some fruits are likely to be sweeter than others.

Is A Pomelo a Grapefruit?

No, but they are related.  Grapefruits are the hybrid offspring of a pomelo and a sweet orange.

Are Pomelos Hybrids?

No - in their original form, pomelos are one of the few truly wild citrus fruits (i.e. not the result of crossing various citrus types).  That being said, some commercial pomelo cultivars may have varying degrees of hybrid genetics.

How-To

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• Find

  Asian Grocery Stores, Conventional Grocery Stores, Fruit Markets

• Choose

  Fruits that feel heavy/dense for their size, with an unblemished and fragrant peel.

• Prep

  Difficulty: Low to Moderate - The extremely thick rind is fairly easy to peel. The membranes around the fruit segments are too tough to eat and should be peeled, but this too is relatively simple.

• Use

  Generally eaten raw, though it can be cooked or incorporated into desserts/preserves. The zest can be used like any other citrus. The thick pith can be used (with preparation) as a vegetable.

• Store

  Ripen: Room Temperature Short Term: Refrigerate

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PREP - Despite the very thick rind, pomelos are fairly easy to work with. Nearly the entire fruit can be used in some form or another (see "Top to Tail Eating" in the More section below), so make sure that you prepare your pomelo according to what you plan to do with the fruit.

The outer layer of the peel (i.e. the zest) can be removed with a vegetable peeler or citrus zester. To remove the thick pith, use a sharp knife to cut a small disk off of the stem end of the pomelo, then 4-6 deep cuts through the pith from top to bottom. Peel the pith away from the fruit - works slowly, as the pith will often adhere to the fruit quite strongly. Alternately, simply cut right through the pomelo from top to bottom and remove the halved fruit from the center, once again working carefully to extract the fruit.

The fruit itself requires a little bit of preparation before using. The membrane surrounding the segments tends to be bitter and very tough, so you'll want to remove it. Fortunately, the toughness of this membrane makes it fairly easy to cut or peel away, so you don't usually need to do anything fancy like a citrus supreme. Many commercial pomelo varieties are seedless, though there may be very small seeds present. Big or small, they should be easy to remove once you've taken the membrane off.

Once you've gotten the pomelo segments free from the rind and the membrane, they can be used like any other citrus. If you plan on using the zest, make sure to wash the surface with warm water to get rid of any wax. The pith doesn't require any specific preparation initially, though if you do cook it, it will need to be soaked to eliminate bitterness.

USE - The fruit itself can be cooked with, thought it is not as popular for this purpose as many other citrus fruits. There are several reasons for this; even good, sweet pomelos are much less juicy than more familiar citrus fruits, the membrane surrounding the segments is thick and quite bitter, and the large vesicles in the flesh tend to separate rather than stay together. Nonetheless, it is possible to cook the fruit if you adapt to these hurdles. The thick, spongy rind can in fact be cooked like a vegetable, though it is bitter unless soaked for a long period of time. The zest can be used to add flavour or peeled carefully and candied like any other citrus peel.

The same features that make pomelo somewhat difficult to cook with make it ideal to use raw. It's extremely easy to remove the fruit from the membrane (and to the break the segments into smaller pieces), making it quite simple to use in salads. Because it's less juicy than many other citrus fruits, it also adds appreciable texture and mouthfeel, allowing it to anchor rather than garnish a dish.

As a final note, you should taste your pomelo before deciding what to do with it. Some will be quite sweet, and are best eaten as-is, while others can be a little sour or bitter, and will work better in a salad or similar dish.

Culinary Info

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• Flavour Profile

  Sweet/Sour/Bitter; Grapefruit-like with an herbal, bitter character. Sourness can vary a great deal from fruit to fruit and between varieties.

• Substitutions

  Sweet grapefruit makes a fairly good substitute, though it tends to be much juicier than pomelo. Melogold makes a good replacement, but is generally harder to find than pomelo (see "Substitution Note" below).

• Cuisines

  Popular in East and Southeast Asia and well suited to those flavour palettes.

• Flavour Pairings

  Savory: Herbs, bitter greens, raw mild onion, soy-based saucesSweet: Cardamom, cinnamon (when used in small quantities)

• Varieties

  Pomelos can be pink-fleshed and white-fleshed, with multiple varieties within each category (see photos and "Important Varieties" note below). Pink pomelos are often juicier and sweeter.

▸SUBSTITUTION NOTE

Pomelo is distinct from, and should not be confused with:

• Grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi), which has a similar flavour but a very thin skin and (generally) more bitter fruit.  Historically the name pomelo was more commonly applied to grapefruit, while shaddock an its spelling variants were used for C. maxima.  Grapefruit is actually a hybrid of pomelo and sweet orange.
• Oroblanco (Citrus maxima × C. paradisi), which has very thick skin like a pomelo, but a taste more like a grapefruit.  Oroblanco is seedless.
• Melogold (Citrus maxima × C. paradisi), which looks quite a bit like an oroblanco, but has a sweetness closer to a pomelo.  It is also seedless.
• Mandelo (Cocktail Grapefruit) (Citrus hybrid), which is another pomelo hybrid, but much more like its other parents (mandarin/tangerine) in flavour and texture.

Sweet grapefruit is easy to find and makes a decent substitute for pomelo, though even the sweetest varieties tend to be a bit more bitter.  While the flavour of a sweet grapefruit will work fairly well, the texture will be softer and there will be more juice, so adjust your recipes accordingly. Melogold makes a good pomelo replacement, but it is not a commonly encountered citrus variety, and is likely to be harder to find than pomelo anyway.

▸IMPORTANT VARIETIES

Most pomelos are yellowish green-skinned with pale white flesh. There are, however, a few varieties with reddish-pink flesh.  Individual varieties also vary between sweeter and more acidic.

Siamese Sweet - A common, white-fleshed cultivar with a sweet but slightly bitter taste.  The vesicles (juice-sacs within the flesh) are fairly dry and easily separated, making this an ideal variety for making salads and similar preparations.  Siamese sweet is also an important citrus parent, having been crossed with other varieties to yield a number of important commercial fruits.

Chandler - A popular, sweet, pink-fleshed pomelo variety (often marketed using the spelling pummelo), and the result of a cross between a Siamese Sweet and a Siamese Pink.  The flavour is considered better than either parent, and the flesh is fairly juicy. The pink pomelo shown in cross-section on this page is a Chandler pomelo.

Honey - Probably the most commonly encountered variety in North America, this is the primary pomelo variety marketed by China.  The flesh is white and either seedless or with very small seeds. The fruit is generally sweet and moderately juicy, though it tends to vary somewhat from specimen to specimen.

Cross-section of a pink-fleshed pomelo.Cross-section of a white-fleshed pomelo.A pear-shaped Thai pomelo variety.Cross-section of a white-fleshed pomelo.

More Info

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• Nutrition

  Nutrition Facts Pomelo (Shaddock) - 100 g (3.5 oz) Amount Per Serving Calories 38 % Daily Value* Sodium 1mg0%Carbohydrates 9g3%Fiber 1g4%Protein 1g2% Vitamin C 84.2mg102%Calcium 10mg1%Iron 0.2mg1% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Exceptionally high in Vitamin C.

• Top-To-Tail

  The fruit is entirely edible or usable, including the skin (zest and pith), flesh/juice, and seeds. Membranes separating the segments are technically edible, but are usually too tough. See note below for details.

• GMO Status

  Non-GMO

• Health & Science

  As with grapefruit (and many other citrus fruits), pomelos may interact with certain classes of drugs.

• Organic vs. Conventional

  Both organic and conventionally grown pomelos are available, though availability may be limited.

▸TOP-TO-TAIL NOTE

The fruit can be used in a variety of ways, and it is worth using in its entirety.

The flesh (including the juice) of the fruit is useful salads, and as a garnish for vegetables and some meats. While it is not often cooked, it can be used in subtle desserts when not overwhelmed by other flavours. The membranes surrounding the segments are generally very tough, and are usually discarded, though they are technically edible.

The peel of the fruit is commonly used to make marmalade and candied peel.

The zest is extremely fragrant and can be used to emphasize the flavour of the fruit in sauces, marinades, or even salads.

The thick white pith of the peel is quite bitter, but does have some of the citrus flavour found in the rest of the fruit. It is commonly discarded, but can actually be cooked in a flavoured braising liquid. In order to do so, it must be boiled and soaked to extract some of the bitterness.

The seeds are a source of extremely high levels of pectin and can be used to thicken preserves like jam or jelly. They do not add an appreciable flavour on their own, and so can be used even with preserves that do not have an orange flavour. Note that seeds are not present in all pomelo varieties.

The leaves are occasionally used to line steamers (etc.) to add flavour to certain dishes.  They are also used to add fragrance to hot baths.  Only use citrus leaves if you are certain that they are clean and free of any pesticide residues.

▸HEALTH & SCIENCE NOTES

Disclaimer - the information here is meant to act as a guide, and should not replace the advice of a trained medical professional.

Pomelos, like grapefruits and some other related citrus species, are capable of causing dangerous drug interactions (specifically with the drugs known as statins, carbamazepine, and a variety of related compounds). Consult with a medical professional about your dietary choices if you are using these or related drugs.

Pomelo Recipes

Pomelo Salad Rolls

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