Kid Vs. Produce

The Chef has been obsessed with pommelos for some time, although I am not entirely sure why. She refuses most citrus fruit, and isn’t a fan of having to deal with pith. When she pushed a single, softball-sized pommelo in my face at the store, I figured we’d give it a try, and she lobbed it into the cart.

Here’s the thing with pommelos: they start off all big and pretty. But then…

I mean, my God, look at the pith on that thing. You peel and peel and peel for an hour before you get down to the fruit.

The fruit itself is lovely, once I pulled off the tough white membranes that surround each segment.

Okay, actually in that photo it looks like a fat pink caterpillar sitting on my chubby little hands. Also, the lighting on these photos is straaaange. It’s all moody and goth.

Which actually sort of suits the pommelo – it’s tangy, with a bit of sweetness, but mostly rather mouth puckering.

The Boy looks vaguely scared to try his slice, right? That might have been because I told him it was a fat pink caterpillar. Or because the mood lighting was so ominous. After eating the slice, he had another one. And then another. He said it tasted like a “sour gummy fruit snack.”

Surprisingly, neither of the girls wanted to touch it with a ten-foot pole. I suspect because of the whole caterpillar thing, but could be because they just aren’t big citrus fans.

The verdict:

I can see making something like a pommelo sorbet or maybe some sort of baked good, or maybe using the juice as part of a cocktail. Hmm. Will have to think on it.