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.”