Ingredient

Pomelo

A pomelo is the largest citrus and the ancestor of the grapefruit. It can be the size of a football and most of that is thick, spongy pith. What is inside is comparatively small, dry, firm-segmented and far less bitter than grapefruit — and it is worth the ten minutes it takes to get at.

Why the pith is so thick

A pomelo's rind and pith together can be two or three centimetres deep. This is a feature of the species rather than a sign of poor fruit, and it is why a pomelo weighing a kilogram might yield three hundred grams of flesh.

The flesh itself is unlike grapefruit. The juice sacs are large, firm and dry, and they separate from one another rather than bursting. Pomelo does not run down your chin; it comes apart into distinct, almost crunchy beads.

Bitterness is much lower than grapefruit and concentrated, as usual, in the membranes rather than the flesh. Stripped properly, a pomelo is mild, floral and gently sweet.

Getting into one

Brute force is the right approach.

1. Cut off the top quarter, going deep enough to expose the flesh.
2. Score the rind from the cut edge down to the base in four or six places, cutting through the pith but not into the flesh.
3. Pull the sections of rind away with your hands. They come off in thick spongy slabs.
4. Break the fruit into segments and peel the tough membrane off each one — this is the part that matters, and it lifts away in one piece if you start at the outer edge.
5. Break the flesh into large beads with your fingers rather than cutting it.
6. Keep the peel if you want to candy it. Pomelo peel is the traditional candied citrus peel across much of Asia.

How it is actually used

Almost never in a fruit salad, in the places it grows.

• Thai yam som-o — pomelo salad with prawns, toasted coconut, shallots, chilli, lime and fish sauce. Savoury, and the best thing to do with the fruit.
• Vietnamese goi buoi, a close relative with herbs and peanuts.
• Chinese and Southeast Asian desserts, notably mango pomelo sago.
• Eaten plain, dipped in a chilli-salt mixture, which is standard across Southeast Asia.
• Candied peel, using the thick pith, which is prized rather than discarded.
• In marmalade, where the low bitterness gives a gentler preserve than grapefruit.
• With crab or prawns in a salad, where the firm beads hold their shape.

Choosing and keeping

Weight

Heavy for its size, which means thinner pith and more flesh.

Skin

Smooth, slightly glossy, green-yellow to yellow. Some green is normal and not a sign of unripeness.

Fragrance

A ripe pomelo smells sweetly floral through the skin.

Keeping

They keep for weeks at room temperature — much longer than most citrus, because of that protective pith.

Flesh colour

White, pink or red depending on variety. Pink and red are generally sweeter.

Common questions