Giant fruit tickles the palate with zest:
The fruit is huge, almost the size of a human head
Winter is citrus season and the mountains of oranges and mandarins appear at precisely the time we need the extra vitamins to ward off those winter colds and flu.
Most Westender readers will head to the Jane St markets for mountains of produce in a market settings but I had the opportunity to explore the Mount Gravatt Showgrounds last Sunday and was suitably impressed.
I was meeting someone at 6am on Sunday, odd I know, and was amazed to see crowds of people with head torches darting through the misty dark, it was quite damp and cold last Sunday morning, grabbing the best produce and then heading back to their restaurants, juice bars and veggie shops.
Since I did not have my head torch, I drank coffee and ate curry puffs – yes the same ones from Jane St – until the sun came up.
When you rip it open the flesh is exposed from inside the individual segments.
My find of the day was a mighty citrus fruit I had not come across before, the Pomelo.
I call it the mighty Pomelo, because it is huge.
Described by some people as the ancestor of the citrus, it is available in sweet and sour varieties and ranges from quite green to a rich yellow.
There are two Pomelo sellers at Mount Gravatt, I chatted to Elena Moeller, who grows the Pomelo’s she sells in Bundamba. She offers a free taste which had me immediately interested.
The flavour is reminded my of the Schweppes Old Fashioned Lemonade – it is sharp but not sour, almost sweet but very refreshing.
I took my Pomelo home, peeled it by hand (after making one cut with a knife) and tore it apart. I found myself devouring quite a few of the significant size segments before I remembered that I was planning to make fruit salad.
It is, quite frankly, delicious.
Keep your eye out for this striking fruit and if the vendor is offering a free taste, try it. If you like it, you’ll find it a pretty cost-effective way to put some citrus into your menu for the week.
