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 Lenny's Favorite TODAY!
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This beautiful creation always comes in second fiddle to the ever popular orange. Most Sunday mornings my husband and I make our way to our local breakfast joint. He orders a glass of OJ and I get my glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit. It is the tart flavor I enjoy so much in grapefruit that makes one of my favorite cocktails the “greyhound”, a mixture of grapefruit juice and vodka. Just add some salt to the rim and you have a salty dog. This drink brings back great memories of a hot Oklahoma summer when my dad and his friends drank salty dogs while sitting out on the porch playing country music.
If you already love this fruit you are ahead of the game. Among other things that are beneficial to your health, grapefruit has lots of vitamin C, fiber and Lycopene. Lycopene has been proven to help prevent cancers, and of all the citrus fruits grapefruit has the highest concentration.
Although the history of the grapefruit is slightly vague, we can trace it back to the West Indies. Shortly after the Spaniards arrived in the area, the native fruit made its way to Florida. Today Florida is still the number one producer of grapefruit in the country accounting for around 80%. Texas, California and Arizona make up the rest of production.
In most conventional supermarkets you usually have one choice, the basic pink grapefruit. Like most citrus this fruit has been crossed and selected so many times that it has lost a ton of flavor. However, with the surge of farmers markets and specialty grocery stores more varieties of grapefruit are easier to find. You may run across a selection of whites/goldens, pinks/ruby’s and the famous Texas Rio Reds. Typically the red varieties are sweeter. The lighter they get, the more tart and slightly bitter they become with the exception of the hybrid Oro Blanco. This fruit is a cross between a Pummelo and a Duncan white. Look for plump grapefruit that are heavy with a tight skin. This is an indication that they are full of juice.
When it comes to eating Grapefruit I enjoy it mainly raw, except for a simple brulee of brown sugar, a tart sorbet or granita. We are huge fans of grapefruit segments in all types of salads. Friends of grapefruit include; avocado, cashews, champagne, cheese, leafy greens, honey, mint, rum, shellfish, brown sugar and vodka. Enjoy this round, juicy fruit and bring it to your table this winter.
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