The veggie of the week is an unusually large berry! It's Grapefruit! Grapefruits come in a variety of tastes and colours, ranging from bitter to sweet, from red to yellow. And these varieties have equally colorful names, the more beautifully imaginative ones being Ruby Red, Star Ruby, Oro Blanco, Rio Star and White Marsh. Whatever differences there may be between these types of grapefruits, they all share the same delicious juiciness.
Grapefruits are originally between pomelo and a sweet orange that are thought to have occurred in the West Indies. For the longest time, before becoming a more common sight in people’s kitchens, Grapefruit was grown as an exotic and rare fruit. It was even called the “forbidden fruit” for a while due to how unusually looking and tasting it was considered to be.
These beautiful berries are rich in vitamin C. The only fruits that contain more are oranges and lemons. But if you are taking medication, carefully read the information you have been given before eating grapefruit with your pills as grapefruits may make your medication useless!
When I was growing up, I remember coming down to breakfast with my grandparents sitting at the kitchen table, having grapefruit with sugar together with their morning tea. As I got older, I came to appreciate this simple grapefruit recipe. If you would like to make a bit more complex dish with grapefruit (but still pretty simple), you can try this week’s recipe: Baked Grapefruit with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon!
Borscht
Ingredients
- 2 grapefruits white, red or pink
- 4 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F / 200C degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Halve grapefruits and remove visible seeds. Cut the flesh into segments with a small pairing knife. Arrange on a baking sheet.
- Drizzle each half with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, then sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Bake for 16-17 minutes or until golden and juicy. Serve warm.
(Little note, please try with vanilla ice cream on the side!)