Red-fleshed grapefruits and blood oranges not only look confusingly similar at first glance, the fruits also have the same taste. This is hardly surprising, after all, the grapefruit once emerged from a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. Nevertheless it concerns variations of different citrus types. The intense red coloring of the red grapefruit only develops through high summer temperatures.
Red-fleshed grapefruit
Basically, grapefruits with pink or even red flesh are significantly milder and sweeter than the varieties with light flesh. The darker a grapefruit is colored, the sweeter it tastes. Probably the red-fleshed grapefruit is the "Star Ruby" variety, which was selected in 1959 from seeds of the "Hudson" variety. The Star Ruby Grapefruit not only has very tasty fruit, but also makes an attractive container plant with its broad, dark green and compact crown. In addition, it is relatively insensitive to cold. However, it only develops its strong red flesh at particularly high summer temperatures.
Other red-fleshed varieties
The red-fleshed grapefruit varieties listed below differ in the degree of color of the flesh and skin and in the more or less intense taste.
- Pink Marsh (old variety with light pink flesh and little to no seeds)
- Ruby Red (the oldest variety with intense pink flesh)
- Ray Ruby (much darker and thus cuter than Ruby Red)
- Rio Red (one of the most commercially grown strains)
- Burgundy (deep red pulp, seedless)
- Henderson (Commonly grown in Texas alongside Rio Red and Ruby Red)
- Flame (one of the most commercially grown strains))
Aromatic blood oranges
Blood oranges are oranges (Citrus aurantium) with red flesh. The taste of these fruits differs greatly from normal juice oranges, as they have a pronounced, fruity blackberry aroma when fully ripe. In contrast to red-fleshed grapefruits, whose color develops through heat, the red flesh color of blood oranges only develops in cold autumnal temperatures.
Blood Orange Varieties
"Moro" is the blood orange with the most pigment in the flesh, which is often so intensely colored that the flesh appears almost black-brown. The shape of the fruit is round, the skin is only slightly red in color in contrast to the flesh. Other varieties are:
- Sanguinelli (intense skin colour)
- Sanguinello (half blood orange with lighter flesh)
- Tarocco (fruit is often larger than other blood oranges, seedless)
Incidentally, the blood orange variety "Tarocco" has what is believed to be the highest concentration of vitamin C of all citrus fruits.
tips and tricks
The so-called "New Zealand grapefruit" has straw-colored, mildly aromatic flesh. Since it needs less heat than a normal grapefruit and also ripens early (December), it is more suitable as a summer outdoor container plant.
IJA