Pomelo

Etymology

The etymology of the word "pomelo" derived from pompelmoes, which is rendered pompelmus in German, and pamplemousse in French.[1] Its botanical name, Citrus maximus, means "biggest citrus". In English, the word "pomelo" (also spelled pomello, pummelo, pommelo, pumelo) has become the more common name, although "pomelo" has historically been used for grapefruit. (The 1973 printing of the American Heritage Dictionary, for example, gives grapefruit as the only meaning of "pomelo.")

After a captain Shaddock of an East India Company ship introduced it to Barbados, the fruit was called "shaddock" in English.[2][3] From there the name spread to Jamaica in 1696.[4] It remains a common name for the fruit among English authors.[5] The fruit is also known as jabong in Hawaii and jambola in varieties of English spoken in South Asia.[1]

Description and uses

The pomelo tree may be 16–50 feet (4.9–15.2 m) tall, possibly with a crooked trunk 4–12 inches (10–30 cm) thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches.[1] Leaf petioles are distinctly winged, with alternate, ovate or elliptic shapes 2–8 inches (51–203 mm) long, with a leathery, dull green upper finish, and hairy lower leaf.[1] The flowers – single or in clusters – are fragrant and yellow-white in color.[1]

The pomelo is a large citrus fruit, 15–25 centimetres (6–10 in) in diameter,[6] usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2–4 lb). It has a thicker rind than a grapefruit.[1] Containing 11–18 segments, the flesh tastes like a mild grapefruit (believed to be a hybrid of Citrus maxima and the orange).[1][7] The flesh has little of the common grapefruit bitterness. The enveloping membranous material around the segments is bitter, considered inedible, and usually discarded.[1] There are two varieties: a sweet kind with white flesh, and a sour kind with pinkish flesh, the latter more likely to be used as a ceremony, rather than eaten.[1] The fruit generally contains few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds.[1]

The juice is regarded as delicious, and the rind is used to make preserves or may be candied.[1] In Brazil, the thick skin may be used for making a sweet conserve, while the spongy pith of the rind is discarded. In Sri Lanka, it is often eaten as a dessert, either raw or sprinkled with sugar. Some fatty Asian dishes use sliced pre-soaked pith to absorb the sauce and fat for eating. In large parts of Southeast Asia where pomelo is native, it is a common dessert, often eaten raw and sprinkled with, or dipped in, a salt mixture. It is eaten in salads.[1] In the Philippines, the juice is mixed with pineapple and made into a pink drink.[8]

The fruit may have been introduced to China around 100 BC.[1]

Varieties

Nutrition

Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A 100 gram reference amount provides 38 calories, and is rich in vitamin C (73% of the Daily Value), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).

Potential for drug interaction

As a species of citrus, pomelo may cause adverse effects, similar to those caused by grapefruit, through the inhibition of cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of prescription drugs such as anti-hypertensives and anticoagulants.[10]

Gallery

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  Flowering and fruiting branch with numbered fruit segment and flower section, chromolithograph by P. Depannemaeker, c. 1885, after B. Hoola van Nooten
• 
  This white hybrid Pomelo is cushioned with a thick mesocarp layer
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  Pomelos
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  Pomelo after being cut
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  Pink pomelo juice vesicles
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  Pomelo blossom
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  Pomelo on tree, has fruit and blossoms at the same time
• 
  Fujian's Pinghe County is famous in China for its pomelos
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  Pomelo orchard
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  Pink pomelo
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  Pomelo seedling
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  Closeup of pomelo petiole
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  Ipoh pomelos on sale at Chinatown, Singapore
• 
  Tam som-o nam pu: spicy Thai pomelo salad with crab extract

References