Oro Blanco (Sweetie)

New Food Alert!!!

I don’t know about you, but I love to try different foods. I will try anything once, and if I like it I’ll have it again; if I don’t like it well at least I tried it. Last Tuesday was just like any other Tuesday, except that I got up really early to go grocery shopping and found an interesting green grapefruit called Oro Blanco. When I usually go to the grocery store it is jammed packed with people; however, here is a little tip that I learned- if you go super early you avoid the chaotic mess of the grocery store that is 6 pm at night.

So anyways, I was grocery shopping and walking down the fruit aisle picking up my usual: 1 apple, 1 pear, 1 citrus, and either a pint of strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Then I noticed something below the stack of pink/red grapefruits; a fruit that looked like a grapefruit but was green. Was it not ripe yet? Like a green banana? Was it a giant lime perhaps? Nope it was an Oro Blanco Grapefruit (Sweetie) from Israel.

I bought the interesting fruit without exactly knowing what it was. It cost me a grand total of $1.79. I got home and researched it and here is what I found: An oro blanco grapefruit, also known as a Sweetie, is different than a regular pink/red grapefruit as it is not entirely natural. It is actually a genetically modified hybrid fruit that is a cross between a white grapefruit and a pummelo. They are currently in season (November) and are seedless. I try to stay away from GMO foods, but as I already bought it I wanted to try it out.

Upon opening the grapefruit I noticed that the flesh in between the meat/pulp and the skin was very thick and had a sponge quality to it. I decided to eat it like a regular grapefruit (by cutting out the little triangles) however, I did discover through my research that you can peel it like an orange and eat it that way. I noticed off the bat that the oro blanco was juicier and definitely seedless. I found it to be less tasteful than a regular grapefruit as it was kind of bland, lacking the bitter quality normally found. While sipping the pool of juice left at the bottom of the grapefruit I found that it was initially sweet with a bitter aftertaste. There were a few bites that were sweeter than others, but overall it was just a mild version of a grapefruit. This can be great for some people, but I personally enjoy the tartness of grapefruit.

Here are my suggestions on how to eat a sweetie:

• Like a normal grapefruit by slicing in between and around the flesh

• Slicing in between and around the flesh then sprinkling sugar on it

• Slicing in between and around the flesh, then broiling it with brown sugar

• Peeling the skin and eating it like an orange

Let me know if you have ever tried/heard of a Sweetie before, and if you have any suggestions on how to eat it in the comment section below :)

#fruit #grapefruit #new #israel #sweetie #oroblanco