The thin skin and reddish filling is grapefruit. It is bigger than an orange in size. And it tastes slightly bitter. Once upon a time, in the distant time of his birth, he was called the "forbidden fruit". Apparently, the discoverer, a certain priest named Hughes from Wales, saw in it something similar to the one growing in the gardens of Paradise. Later, this poetic name was abandoned in order to give a second one, also not quite proper: "little sheddock". Because there was also a sheddock - pomelo. And it was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that grapefruit became grapefruit with the light hand of merchants.
Grapefruit is most often found in recipes with these five products:
In fact, this citrus is the fruit of the love of two others: pomelo and orange. Moreover, the act of hybridization took place by accident (you will not know exactly how). Therefore, he has something similar to both parents. Grapefruit ripens in a natural environment for about one year. And today about twenty of its varieties are known, half of which have a red flesh color, and the other half is yellow. The first one is sweeter, therefore it has a wider distribution. You won't find yellow grapefruits on sale, at least in regular stores.
Grapefruit peel contains a lot of essential oils and acids. There have been cases when this substance melted cheap plastic. Therefore, when you peel the fruit, after washing your hands for insurance (with soap - there are a lot of fats there).
In cooking, grapefruit is mainly used for salads. drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), smoothies, fruit desserts. That is, it is not heat-treated, but consumed raw.
There are many active substances in its juice that affect the entire body as a whole and its individual parts. Thus, it is believed that it can be used to strengthen the cardiovascular system and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.