On millions of breakfast tables every morning the grapefruit appears as a favorite dish. You would imagine that we would know act about a fruit as common as this. Yet the origin of the grapefruit is somewhat Of a mystery!

There is a fruit known as the pummelo, or shamrock, which is a bit smaller than the grapefruit. Some scientists believe that the grapefruit originated from the pummels as a mutation, which means a variation of the original species. As far back as 1814, a scientist observed a variety of the pummelo which he described as “known by the name of ‘grapefruit’ on account of its resemblance in flavor to the grape.”

Even today, no one is quite certain where the grapefruit originated, but the best theory is that it originated in Jamaica.

The grapefruit tree grows to about the same size as an orange tree and may reach a height of 4 to 6 meters. The fruit itself averages twice the size of an orange. Through a process of cultivation, some grapefruit have been developed which have a pink or red pulp instead of the usual light yellow. There are now actually twenty-three varieties with light yellow pulp and four varieties with Pink or reddish Auks being grown in the United States.

Grapefruit was being eaten as a fruit in the West Undies long before any of it was grown on the mainland. About eighty years ago, the culture of the grapefruit began in Florida. Today it is being grown in many states and many other countries, too.

Grapefruit trees thrive best on sandy, but fertile, soils. It takes about four to six years after a tree has been planted for it to yield fruit. But once a tree begins to bear, it produces remarkably large crone of from 590 to 680 kilograms of fruit per tree!

People like to enjoy grapefruit all through the year, but the fresh fruit is available only from late fan to early spring. As a result, grapefruit canning has become an important industry. We most often see canned grapefruit in the forms of juice and segments. Grapefruit is a healthy fruit to eat; it is richer as a source of Vitamin C than most of the fruits and vegetables we normally eat. Only the orange and lemon have more Vitamin C than the grapefruit.