Description & uses
It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white (or, more rarely, pink or red) flesh and very thick albedo (rind pith). It is a large citrus fruit, 15–25 centimetres (5.9–9.8 in) in diameter, and usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2.2–4.4 lb). Leaf petioles are distinctly winged.
The fruit tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit (which is itself believed to be a hybrid of Citrus maxima and the orange), though the typical shaddock is much larger in size than the grapefruit. It has very little, or none, of the common grapefruit's bitterness, but the enveloping membranous material around the segments is bitter, considered inedible, and thus usually is discarded. The peel is sometimes used to make marmalade, can be candied and sometimes dipped in chocolate. Citrus maxima is usually grafted onto other citrus rootstocks, but can be grown from seed, provided the seeds are not allowed to dry out before planting.
The two varieties are a sweet kind, which has white flesh, and a sour kind, which has pinkish flesh and is more likely to be used as an altar decoration than actually eaten. Pomelos are often eaten during the mid-autumn festival or mooncake festival; in Asia.
The fruit is said to have been introduced to Japan by a Cantonese captain in the An'ei era (1772–1781).
It is one of the ingredients of Forbidden Fruit, a liqueur dating back to the early 20th century that also contains honey and brandy. This liqueur is most famously used in the Dorchester cocktail.
In Brazil, the thick skin is often used for making a sweet conserve, while the middle is discarded