Today’s Red Grapefruit: It’s Not Your Mother’s Grapefruit

So you’ve decided to try grapefruit again? Maybe you’ve held past, not-so-happy memories of it: Your mother placing in front of you a halved white grapefruit and a spoon, and as you took one bite (while squirting yourself in the eye), you decided the pale, sour fruit was just not for you? Well, welcome to the better days of citrus! Now red grapefruit is on the menu; happy days are here again!

Most of us know grapefruit is good for you – all grapefruit, the white (also known as “blond”), the pink and the red grapefruit. It’s so loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and more, you may have always wished you could like it, but just can’t get those eye-squirting, bitter-tasting memories out of your mind. But with red grapefruit now so available, isn’t it time you tried it just one more time? You just may be pleasantly surprised!

Start with a different way of preparing your red grapefruit. First, don’t refrigerate it! (Or if you do because you won’t be eating it for a week, let it sit on your counter for a couple of hours, warming to room temperature.) Red grapefruit (like many fruits and vegetables) comes to peak flavor when it’s not cold.

Next, roll your red grapefruit gently against your countertop or cutting board to release this fruit’s generous bounty of juices. For the following step, you must make a decision: You can cut your red grapefruit in half in the traditional way or you can prepare it the “frenching” way. Now, before explaining what “frenching” is, it must be noted that the traditional, cutting-in-half method is 1) easier, 2) less messy and 3) may provide you with more nutrition, depending on how you actually eat it. (You may consume more of the membrane eating red grapefruit the traditional way, which translates into getting more fiber from the fruit.) With that said, we’ll move on to the “frenching” method….

To “french” a red grapefruit, slice off both its stem and blossom end. Then, with your very sharp knife, carefully peel the entire fruit. When finished, you should clearly see the red grapefruit membranes separating the meat of the fruit. Again with your knife, slice as close as possible to these membranes on either side of them, releasing the red grapefruit into bite-sized segments; place in a bowl. To get every last bit of juice, some people then firmly squeeze the peel with its leftover membranes over their bowl of red grapefruit slices. Drizzle with a tablespoon honey, if you like (though many red grapefruit varieties are plenty sweet without extra sweetener). Enjoy – with no squirts to the eye – guaranteed!

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

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