Grapefruit Ethnobotany: Generous Versatility of Citus x paradisi as Food Sources and So Much More

The grapefruit tree’s inspirational role is as practical as it is creative. For example, every bit of the tree can be recycled. Grapefruit seed extracted oil is usable as a quick, odor-free household control of mildew and mold. Seed hulls then are effective in conditioning soil or, in combination with dried grapefruit pulp, for feeding cattle, which also may be fed molasses made from grapefruit packing plant waste. An essence extracted from grapefruit flowers treats insomnia and stomach aches. Extractions from leaves act as a natural antibiotic in bolstering the immune system. The wood from branches, trunks and whole trees serves as firewood or is constructible as household fixtures. Specifically, household furnishings made from grapefruit tree wood will be attractively fine grained and yellowcolored as well as long-lasting in their plucky durability.

Creativity and practicality spill over into the grapefruit’s best known and most widespread use, as food for people who care about healthy lifestyles. Specifically, Dr. Suresh K. Balani of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts observes:

"GRJ [grapefruit juice] is known to have antioxidant, antiseptic, cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, and hypocholesterlemic activities." (p. 460)

For example, consuming the pulp discourages urinary disorders. At the same time, it encourages overall health through its high vitamin C content and through the hostility of its flavonone naringin to cholesterol. It is seen in helping out in weight control through the slow release of carbohydrates into the blood stream and the concomitantly more controlled impact on blood sugar levels. As part of a healthy, high protein diet, it may lead to the loss of 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in 10 days.

The grapefruit is as culturally current as it is environmentally conscious and gastronomically appealing in its uses. For example, Grapefruit is the name of a psychedelic pop/rock band that was based in London, England during the 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 after band guitarist and lead vocalist John Perry (born July 16, 1949) met with Terry Doran, key figure within The Beatles’ Apple Publishing Ltd. and long-time acquaintance of musical genius John Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980).

John hoped to convey to the public the band’s innovative musical hybridization, in the same way that his wife, visionary artist, filmmaker, musician and writer Yoko Ono (born February 18, 1933), sought to break creative and spiritual barriers with her conceptual art book, Grapefruit, in 1964. Conceptual art includes event scores, which provide information that the viewer then may or may not carry out. The information relates to actions or ideas that relate to everyday life. For example, Yoko suggests a conversation that begins with one person concurrently thinking of snow beginning to fall and ends when the other person is covered by the imaginary snowfall.

The grapefruit tree’s inspirational role is as practical as it is creative. For example, every bit of the tree can be recycled. Grapefruit seed extracted oil is usable as a quick, odor-free household control of mildew and mold. Seed hulls then are effective in conditioning soil or, in combination with dried grapefruit pulp, for feeding cattle, which also may be fed molasses made from grapefruit packing plant waste. An essence extracted from grapefruit flowers treats insomnia and stomach aches. Extractions from leaves act as a natural antibiotic in bolstering the immune system. The wood from branches, trunks and whole trees serves as firewood or is constructible as household fixtures. Specifically, household furnishings made from grapefruit tree wood will be attractively fine grained and yellowcolored as well as long-lasting in their plucky durability.

Creativity and practicality spill over into the grapefruit’s best known and most widespread use, as food for people who care about healthy lifestyles. Specifically, Dr. Suresh K. Balani of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts observes:

"GRJ [grapefruit juice] is known to have antioxidant, antiseptic, cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, and hypocholesterlemic activities." (p. 460)

For example, consuming the pulp discourages urinary disorders. At the same time, it encourages overall health through its high vitamin C content and through the hostility of its flavonone naringin to cholesterol. It is seen in helping out in weight control through the slow release of carbohydrates into the blood stream and the concomitantly more controlled impact on blood sugar levels. As part of a healthy, high protein diet, it may lead to the loss of 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in 10 days.

Ironically, this forbidden fruit from the Caribbean has been forbidden to its devotees who are prone to kidney stones, take certain medicines or undergo hormone therapy. Specifically, Dr. Suresh Balani elaborates that "GRJ is a milieu of chemicals, including flavonoids, fruity esters, psoralen derivatives, sugars, polysaccharides, organic acids, vitamins, and minerals" (p. 445) and therefore "inhibits multiple enzymes" (p. 444) such as CYP3A4/5in the small intestine and PgP (phosphoglycolate phosphatase) in red blood cells as well as transporters such as OATP (organic anion-transporting polypeptide). Additionally, Professor R. Elaine Turner and Researcher Gail C. Rampersaud pinpoint the problematic interaction between grapefruit juice and drugs for high blood pressure or cholesterol; immunosuppression after transplant surgery; or treatment of anxiety, depression or insomnia as well as antihistamine drugs and protease inhibitors. It indeed is precisely for these reasons that, in terms of packaging and prescriptions, the United States Food and Drug Administration requires precautions or warnings for all drugs whose use is affected by interaction with grapefruit juice.

But grapefruit resilience yet may triumph. For example, Dr. Balani refers to the dissipation of grapefruit juice inhibitory effects within 72 hours after consumption of an 8 fluid ounce (240 milliliter) glass. Additionally, research findings reported by Paul Watkins, M.D., of the University of North Carolina in the May 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that the furanocoumarins, or plant toxins, bergamottin and 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin, can be removed from the forbidden fruit juice, which thereby becomes sweeter tasting and monstrously orange juice-like in its non-interference.

The versatile grapefruit may be incorporated into any consumer’s favorite beverage or food item at any meal or snack time throughout the day. Grapefruit's first appearance of the day often occurs at breakfast, usually as a tart juice or as a pungent fruit preserve, such as jam, jelly, or marmalade.

Recipes in which grapefruits participate represent all categories, from beverages to main dishes, from salads to soups, and from desserts to snacks. Grapefruits are especially colorful and flavorful in salads, where they team tastefully with such sumptuous ingredients as arugula, avocado, fennel, pomegranate seeds, strawberries, and walnuts. Seafood salads also welcome grapefruit sections, which complement crab, salmon, scallops, and shrimp.

Main dishes featuring meat, poultry, or seafood are transformed, irresistibly, by grapefruit glazes and marinades.

Its citrusy inclusion in desserts presents creativity as well, from cakes and cookies to mignardises (a type of petit four) and pies.

For cocktails and nightcaps, grapefruits also find tantalizing expression, for example, as grapefruit margarita (with tequila and Cointreau), grapefruit mimosa (with champagne), and Greyhound (with gin or vodka). In addition, grapefruits may end the day on a non-alcoholic note as nighttime tea.

After four centuries of human interaction, therefore, the grapefruit still may be seen as forbidden fruit that is Eden-like in its irresistible appeal to any palate.

This article is dedicated to the memory of my paternal grandfather, August, who added owning a grapefruit orchard in Dunedin, Florida, to his impressive list of accomplishments. Although he predeceased my birth, I know of his admirable qualities through his son, my father, and I remember grandfather August and his poetic reverence for life every time I am in the presence of grapefruits.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Detroit Publishing Company postcard 70216, "Three Year Old Grapefruit Tree," Florida: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Three_Year_Old_Grape_Fruit_Tree,_Florida_(NYPL_b12647398-73871).tiff; via The New York Public Library Digital Collections @ https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-9f6e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Grapefruit- Dear Delilah (Lyric): Uploaded to YouTube on November 23, 2007, by Jürgen Hildebrandt @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAtFoD7xzLc

Asheville Post Card Co., Asheville, North Carolina, ca. 1912: Public Domain, via Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida @ https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/158106

Created using Accelrys DS Visualizer Pro 1.6 and the GIMP; from Protein Data Bank (PDB): Fvasconcellos, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CYP3A4_PDB1W0E.png

"American Country Breakfast served around Thanksgiving 2006.": Zuejay, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AmCountryBreakfast.JPG

Restaurant du Palais Royal, Paris: Amy Ross (telepathicparanoia), CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/donutgirl/2593636057/

TeaGschwendner, Cameron Village tea shop, Raleigh, North Carolina: Selena N.B.H. (moonlightbulb), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/moonlightbulb/4007595332/

canning grapefruit juice USDA150: US Department of Agriculture (USDA.gov), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6302338577/

grapefruit in salad: kateharman, CC BY-ND 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/katehartman/2414669951/

Riverside, southwestern California: Greg Mote (gregmote), C BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregmote/195498642/

Ackart, Robert. Fruits in Cooking. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1973.

Better Homes and Gardens. So Good with Fruit. Meredith Publishing Company, 1967.

Chandonnet, Ann. The Complete Fruit Cookbook. San Francisco: 101 Productions, 1972.

Citrus. Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1992, 1997.

Dixon, Pamela. New Ways with Fresh Fruit & Vegetables. London and Boston: Faber and Faber Limited, 1973, 1981.

Hodgson, Moira. Cooking with Fruits and Nuts. Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1973.

Ono, Yoko. Grapefruit. 2nd ed. New York: Peter Owen Ltd, 1970.

Plagemann, Catherine. Fine Preserving. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967.

Raddin, Charles S. "Grape Fruit." William Kerr Higley, ed. Birds and Nature in  Natural Colors: A Monthly Serial. Forty Illustrations by Color Photography, A Guide in the Study of Nature. Volume XV, No. 2 (February 1904): 86-87. Chicago: A.W. Mumford, 1904.

• Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library at: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/111221

Rubin, Cynthia & Jerome. The New Fruit Cookbook. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1974, 1977.

Sinclair, Walton B. The Grapefruit: Its Composition, Physiology, and Products. Riverside: University of California, Division of Agricultural Sciences, 1972.

Small, Ernest. Top 100 Food Plants. Ottawa: National Research Council of Canada, 2009.

The Editors of Time-Life Books. Fruits. 1983.

Turner, R. Elaine and Gail C. Rampersaud. “Using Medications Safely: Interactions Between Grapefruit Juice and Prescription Drugs.” Gainesville: University of Florida IFAS Extension Publication #FSHN02-5, 2009.

• Available at:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs088

Waters, Alice and the Cooks of Chez Panisse in collaboration with Alan Tangren and Fritz Streiff. Chez Panisse Fruit. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002.