By Kathryn van
“What do I do with grapefruit?” a friend asked frantically on the phone one day several years ago.
“Uh, what?” was my less-than-intelligent reply. Was this a joke or what? There was only one thing to do with grapefruit: Cut it in half, sprinkle it with sugar and eat it.
Unfortunately she was serious. Marcia’s mother had sent her a gift of fresh fruit and someone goofed. She ended up with 25 pounds of grapefruit.
Over the next couple of weeks we discovered more ways of cooking with grapefruit than either of us had ever imagined. We made grapefruit marmalade, grapefruit compote, grapefruit meringue pie, grapefruit marinated fish, grapefruit chicken — you name it, we tried it.
And we discovered something quite wonderful: Grapefruit is a very tasty fruit that is surprisingly versatile. Why had we never thought of glazing ham with grapefruit or tossing sections of it in fruit salad? How did we not know that grapefruit juice was a wonderful tenderizing marinade for pork and venison? Why had mom never told me that grapefruit could be used interchangeably with lemons and oranges in almost every recipe?
We know that now.
When picking out your grapefruit, get ones that feel heavy for their size and that have smooth skins. They should be firm but not hard when squeezed and should have a clean citrus smell.
If you plan to use them within a week or so, store them at room temperature — they will stay juicier this way. They can be kept in the fridge for up to three weeks.
Broiled grapefruit
Kids won’t eat their grapefruit? Try this easy recipe.
4 grapefruit
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 teaspoons butter
Preheat your oven’s broiler. Cut the grapefruits in half, and use a small serrated knife to cut out the sections in the halves. Spoon the sections and juice into a bowl, then scrape out all of the remaining thick skins and pulp and discard. Spoon the sections from the bowl back into the halves. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the top of each grapefruit half, adjusting to taste. Dot with butter. Place the halves on a cookie sheet. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the butter is melted and sugar is starting to turn brown. Serves 4.
Baked Ham with Grapefruit Brown Sugar Glaze
This is possibly the best glaze for a baked ham. Be sure to make extra for dipping.
1 1⁄2 pound fully cooked boneless smoked ham
Whole cloves
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ham, fat or rind side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Score ham fat in diamonds about 1/4 inch deep. Insert a whole clove in the center of each diamond. Combine brown sugar, mustard, grapefruit zest and juice in small bowl to make glaze. Ladle 2 tablespoons of glaze over ham. Cook ham, uncovered, in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until ham is heated through, brushing with glaze every 10 minutes. Carve and drizzle any remaining glaze over slices. Serves 8.
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