This is a pic of my friend Hawaiian Brian‘s laden pomelo tree.
Brian’s Pomelo Tree
BTW, any guesses as to what is the green vine growing up the tree on the left-hand side of this pic? I’ll tell you at the end of the post. (Hint: Brian likes orchids)
Brian’s Pink Pomelos
Pomelo (pronounced “pom-EH-loh” although I prefer “PAW-meh-loh”). Also called jabong, Chinese grapefruit, pummelo, shaddock, or bu-look (that’s the word my family in Hawaii used to refer to this fruit). It originated in Malaysia but is grown throughout the tropics, including Hawaii. Their size ranges from grapefruit to basketball. It is the largest of all citrus, hence the Latin name Citrus maxima.
They are normally in season during the winter, along with a lot of other citrus. We see a lot of pomelos on sale here during Chinese New Year (January/February). But Brian’s pomelo tree has ripe fruit right now, in the middle of summer . I guess when you live in the tropics, “seasons” don’t really matter much. Either that, or Brian has such a green thumb that he can get any plant to fruit whenever he likes!
When ripe, the outside skin is yellow. Inside is a thick layer of soft, spongy rind, which can easily be peeled away. The skin around each section is tough and bitter, and normally not eaten. The flesh itself is much like a grapefruit, but not as tart.
The flesh can vary from pale yellow to fully pink. Brian’s pomelo seems to be a mixture of the two, which makes for a beautiful looking fruit.
Brian’s Pink Pomelos
We peeled his pomelos open, and found that there were quite a lot of seeds. The flesh was so sweet and juicy, though. We could not control ourselves as we separated the flesh. Peel, divide a section, and drop one half on the plate and pop the other half in our mouths. Repeat. Too bad we couldn’t bring any of Brian’s pink pomelos home with us to San Jose!
Aloha, Nate
This post was submitted to the August 2008 CLICK photo event.
Oh, btw, that vine you see growing up Brian’s pomelo tree? It’s a vanilla orchid. Yep, that’s right. That crazy cat is growing his own vanilla beans. How cool is that?
>I haven’t developed a taste for these so far but the ones I get in my CSA box don’t look as good and juicy as these so maybe I just need to have a good one!
>My mom always served pomelo for Chinese New Year but I would never touch the stuff. I don’t remember why, but the fact that she would place the slices next to a ton of Chinese New Year candies and other sugared items might have something to do with it! Now I’m curious to try a pomelo — I’ll have to see if there are any to be found here in the Northwest.
Brian certainly has a green thumb. Do you think he would send you a photo of the grown vanilla beans pods before harvest? I’d love to see that.
>@Deb – you participate in a CSA? which one?
@Jenster – I’d have gone for the candy too, but still hit up the pomelo when the candy ran out! You should be able to find some in the Asian groceries, particularly around Chinese New Year.
>I have not seen bulook in awhile. My parents use to have those around for Chinese New Year, but not in the past couple of years. I still have not gotten into them, I think they just require too much effort to eat. Love the pics though 🙂
>i LOVE polemos, they are so yummy and great!
>@judyfoodie – you call it bulook too?
They can seem like they are too much trouble, but if you get a good sweet one, it’s worth it!
@Sara – you betcha, thanks for coming!
>I forgot what we call this in the Philippines. It was good stuff though. Tart and slightly sweet — really refreshing.
>@Jude – whatever it’s called, I wish we could eat it year-round!
>Oh no, this is exactly what I dreamed the other night but very pity of me not available in the local market here in Australia. I missed it so much after I dreamed eating and dipping it with chilli vinegar sauce!
>@Jennifer – never heard of eating it with chilli vinegar sauce. I usually just eat it plain.
>ALI KHAN,
The climber which is on the left side of Pomelo is TILLANDSIA USNEOIDES (Bot. name)
>@anonymous – Yes, there is also Spanish moss on the tree but the green vine is vanilla.