It is high time I turn to the painful subject of grapefruit.
The only foodstuff my mother obliged us to consume was orange juice; we had to have a glass every morning. I didn’t like it. It never tasted like the juice squeezed from oranges, nor like Hi-C; I found either preferable to the frozen glob made from concentrate. I always had a desire for doing something apart from the usual. So this led me to grapefruit.
One nice ‘perk’ for living in Phoenix is there is no lack of grapefruit. Alas, they all come on at once. Like home grown tomatoes in August, suddenly everyone has them. Sacks of grapefruit are left in office kitchens hoping someone will take them, but almost everyone has their own, growing in their yards.
I try to eat a grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice every morning. I recall the grapefruits from my youth were bitter; I had to put sugar on them. Either the grapefruits or my taste buds evolved, for they are now almost too sweet.
My friend Leon has some sort of plastic citrus peeler; he can skin a grapefruit in a few seconds. I have to use my fingers, which makes quite a mess, but it is jolly good fun to do.
Grapefruits get bad press, or their juice impedes the metabolism of certain prescription drugs, thus increasing the medicine levels in the blood stream. “Don’t eat with grapefruit!” is a common warning on prescription med bottles. Some of my patients have learned they can get a better buzz off of their Xanax if they take the pills with grapefruit juice (better living through chemistry). Sometimes if you are not a regular consumer of grapefruit, they bring out cold sores.
Nerts to oranges with their reek of conventionalism and Anita Bryant. Give me a Ruby Red.
When you are tired of grapefruit, you are tired of life.
Spo-Reflections 
21 comments
February 10, 2012 at 1:26 AM
Doug
We also have a tree in our back yard (yellow, not ruby red). And I find the same taste change as you: I used to need sugar, now I like them straight-up. And any time a doctor prescribes me a drug, I ask about its interaction with grapefruit.
Also, grapefruit juice and gin makes a wonderful drink (a greyhound).
February 10, 2012 at 4:06 AM
Ron
Grapefruit is one of the best natural “medicines.” I should eat more of them. You are lucky you have them in abundance.
February 10, 2012 at 4:23 AM
Cubby
I must have retained the tastebuds from my youth because I still think grapefruits are incredibly bitter.
Greg takes some kind of med that has the grapefruit warning. I never understood why it was there. I always assumed it was the result of the orange grower association’s lobbying efforts on Congress.
Do you have any fruit trees in your yard? Pics please.
February 10, 2012 at 4:30 AM
Blobby
I like grapefruit juice, though the fruit itself is cumbersome to eat. On the other hand, I don’t care for orange juice but will eat any amount of oranges put in front of me – or clementines or honey bells. (that’s ‘bells’).
Neither fruit grows here.
February 10, 2012 at 5:51 AM
anne marie in philly
I LOVE orange juice, but am allergic to grapefruit (giant hives).
I survive.
February 10, 2012 at 6:27 AM
truthspew
Wasn’t there something about grapefruits being toxic to some degree? I thought that was interesting. I haven’t eaten one in years but I remember back in the mid 90’s the ruby-reds started showing up. Those were pretty good.
February 10, 2012 at 7:00 AM
tigerchanter
I find it too acidic for regular consumption, but, as Doug suggested, it is faaabulous in a Greyhound! 😉
February 10, 2012 at 7:30 AM
Jay
I havent had a grapefruit or an orange for ages..Since I became diabetic i leery of the blood glucose “spike” they can give me and so I avoid them, but I do miss them. Sometimes I have a glass of the 50% stuff but it is not the same. I used to put salt on my grapefruit and I am sure that was just as bad as sugar. I did notice at the grocery store that they were selling red grapefruit which was already cut up and ready to eat…Takes all the fun out of it.
.
February 10, 2012 at 8:38 AM
Raybeard
Grapefruit, incl its juice, is the only ‘forbidden fruit’ (I’m told) for those of us on Statins medication for lowering cholesterol levels. Funny how the allure of something being ‘verboten’ gives one a craving for it.
February 10, 2012 at 9:05 AM
Aunt Barb
Nonny had a grapefruit diet to lose her ‘proverbial’ five pounds
February 10, 2012 at 10:08 AM
Shawn
yummy!
February 10, 2012 at 10:16 AM
Jeff
I prefer my Greyhound made with vodka. A little salt on the rim is good too. (A salty dog). Because it is not as sweet as orange juice (screwdrivers), I tend to drink them slower.
February 10, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Scott
I remember grapefruits being the diet fruit. Women would eat them when they wanted to slim a bit. I will eat it if I find it out on a breakfast buffet, treating it like a treat fruit keeps the tart taste a prized commodity for my tongue.
February 10, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Arnie Lewis Tharp
Love ’em. The smell will wake you right up! So bright, clean, and refreshing. I’ve also grilled them sliced on the grill with a brushing of olive oil, black pepper, brown sugar, and balsamic. Yummy.
February 10, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Ron
By the way, I’m glad I found out you Arizonians have an abundance of grapefruit, I was going to send you a CARTON of Florida’s best. Just another excellent reason to read Spo’s blog EVERDAY.
February 10, 2012 at 11:12 PM
wcs
I truly miss grapefruits. The doctor forbids them with my blood pressure medication. Don’t tell, but I indulged in a glass or two of grapefruit juice at holiday time. I survived. Yum.
February 11, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Raybob
Bleah. Can’t stand ’em.
February 12, 2012 at 10:21 PM
Erik Rubright
I miss grapefruit. At least the homegrown grapefruit we had when I was growing up in FL. The only kind we can get here is that nasty stuff with the really thick rinds.
February 15, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Stash
it took me a while to get used to them. they’re not high on my list of citrus fruits.
April 13, 2012 at 7:31 AM
Jennifer Ward-Pelar
I had the same problem with grapefruits growing up. We always had to use sugar, but now I don’t have to. Do you think they really are getting sweeter? And I didn’t know about the cold sores! Yikes!
May 29, 2012 at 9:14 PM
JustAMike
I love them both. Here’s to citrus!!