Is Texas Rio Ruby™ Red Grapefruit the Sweetest Variety of Grapefruit?

Grapefruit often gets a bad rap as a so-called “diet” food, unbearably bitter and a chore to eat. But you shouldn’t dismiss this citrus super food out of hand…apart from being supremely healthy, grapefruit adds a crisp, refreshing taste to many recipes. And if its reputed tartness has scared you off in the past, don’t let it – instead, get to know the sweet varieties you’ve been missing!

What’s the sweetest grapefruit?

Nothing against white grapefruit, but the fact remains: the redder the flesh, the sweeter the grapefruit.

The first truly red grapefruit was found growing on a white grapefruit tree in an orchard in south Texas’s Rio Grande Valley in the late 1920s. It first attracted notice because even its skin had a blush to it, and when it was cut open it was found to be red inside. From that mutation grew numerous ruby red grapefruit varieties, which have less naringin (a flavonoid that gives grapefruit its bitter taste) than other grapefruit varieties.

If you’re interested in trying a sweet grapefruit, go for red, not pink. Pink grapefruit is just as tart as white because it gets its pinkness from the fact that it contains more beta carotene, not from having less naringin.

Grapefruit 101: How to eat grapefruit

One thing that might deter grapefruit novices from trying this citrus fruit is its reputation for being hard to eat. The truth is that grapefruit isn’t really that difficult to eat so long as you know how to prepare it for eating. While a grapefruit resembles an orange, it shouldn’t be eaten like one – that is, peeled and sectioned. If you do, you’re going to wind up with a lot of the white pith on your grapefruit sections, and that’s where most of the bitterness comes in.

Slicing a grapefruit in half and scooping out the segments with a serrated grapefruit spoon is much easier, but if you use a knife to remove the skin from the segments you’ll retain more of the wonderful grapefruit juice benefits.

Health Benefits of Grapefruit

Grapefruit nutrition is legendary, and there are many health benefits of eating grapefruit every day. Here are just a few ways your health can benefit from partaking of this super fruit:

• Grapefruit packs a hefty dose of vitamin C in each serving. A single serving of grapefruit delivers a whopping 80% of your recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C for the day.
• Grapefruit has high levels of antioxidants. There’s growing evidence that plant-based antioxidants, like those found in grapefruit (especially red grapefruit), have a slight blood-pressure lowering effect. Antioxidants in general may also play a key role in preventing cancer.
• How many calories in grapefruit can help you maintain a healthy weight. Grapefruit calories are notoriously low (about 40 for half a medium grapefruit), and because grapefruit is high in fiber and water content it’s very filling. For those on low-carb diets, grapefruit is a good fruit choice: the carbs in grapefruit come out to about 14 for a whole medium fruit.
• Grapefruit can help you stay hydrated. Our bodies get 20% of our hydration from the food we eat. Grapefruit is 92% water, giving it one of the highest water contents of any fruit.

What is grapefruit good for?

If you’re asking this question, it can be assumed that you’re intrigued by the flavor of grapefruit and how grapefruit benefits your health, but you’re not much interested in sitting down to half a grapefruit for breakfast like you’re on a grapefruit diet. We get that. But did you know that grapefruit is a great addition to many recipes? Grapefruit goes will in salads, seafood dishes, and can even be grilled. So grab up some sweet red grapefruit and start experimenting today!

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