Sunday, May 10, 2009

Who's ugli?

I was pretty excited to see Katie's New Foods Challenge, as I always have my eyes on fun things in the produce section of the grocery store! First were the ramps I found, which I really enjoyed. This time I made the switch to a fruit...


Ugli fruit! It's also known as uniq fruit, or Jamaican tangelo, and believed to be a hybrid of a grapefruit, tangerine, and perhaps a pomello. Like other citrus fruit, it's high in vitamin C and has some fiber to boot. How to pick a ripe one? I had no idea, but according to this website, it is only picked when ripe (so it will be ripe in the store) and can range from green to yellow to orange. While I found recipes for an Ugli Salad w/Avocado & Shrimp and Uniq Lemon Marmelade that sounded great, I got lazy and decided to try it in its natural form... I just ate it :)


It has a thick rind that was very easy to peel. The segments came apart easily, but the casings were quite tough, so I ended up starting to peel them and squeezing out the pulp with my teeth. Perhaps eating it like a grapefruit would've been easier! It was SO juicy, it's a good thing I didn't try to eat this on my couch! I could tell it was part grapefruit, but it was very sweet and refreshing. Maybe next time I'll try those recipes...

28 comments:

Alisa - Frugal Foodie said...

I had never heard of an ugli! It sounds worth seeking out though; I love both oranges and grapefruits.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Aww poor unfortunately-named fruit. He doesn't look so ugly to me!

Thanks so much for blogging about the challenge! I loved reading your post, especially since I've never had an ugli fruit before. If it's as juicy as you say, I bet I'd love it! Now I just need to get my local grocery store to stock them :)

Amy said...

I've always wanted to try an ugli fruit since I LOVE grapefruit. I probably wouldn't know how to eat it either.

thanks for the review. :)

Dewi said...

Great info, I saw this fruit in my grocery store, but never really bought them. I thought it was just like another tangerines. I should try them next time.

Sara said...

I've always wanted to try an ugli fruit! You're lucky that you got ramps, I've been searching for them all weekend and they were nowhere to be found.

Sharon said...

Oh wow, I don't think I have tried these before! Yum yum!

Erica said...

How cool- I want to try one! I bet it'd be really good in juice form too!

Heather said...

very cool! i've heard of these but never tried them! they're on the list!

Bridget said...

Those things always intrigue me at the store, they are so funny looking! Sounds pretty awesome though, I love citrus!

Kelly said...

Wow that looks a lot like an orange. It is really funny that its called "ugli" haha. Oh well- love your blog :)

Reeni said...

I've hear of them but never seen one, they aren't really that ugli after all. I was expecting something really hideous!! ha.

Emily said...

Yum! Looks delicious. I've never heard of this fruit before.

Elina said...

I've never had ugli fruit. Looks cool! :)

Kelly said...

I absolutely would love to hear about your training for your first triathlon! I feel like I have a million questions but I can't think of them right now so I'll have to get back to you. I definitely hope you do that post though :)

Anonymous said...

Wow - with a name like that, it's probably hard to find dates! Get it, dates? Sorry, bad fruit humor. I've never heard of this one, but that rocks that you tried something new!

Anonymous said...

I've just recently heard about this ugli fruit at We are never full blog. I haven't tried it myself yet, but want to look for it soon!

Jess said...

Does it taste like an orange?

Cate O'Malley said...

Is it tart like a grapefruit, or more sweet? Looks so much like an orange inside. Haven't had one yet, but now you're tempting me...

Unknown said...

Jess and Cate- Much more sweet, like an orange or tangerine :) Sorry I didn't make that clear-er!

pigpigscorner said...

O.O I've never heard of it. Looks like mandarin orange.

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

I tried this too, it's really ugly but fresh and juicy! :)

Rosiecat24 said...

Who you callin' ugly?

I always see ugli fruits at Whole Foods and their name makes me smile :-)

Would these fruits make a good juice? I wonder if the tough casings make them better as a juicing fruit than an eating fruit.

Have a good week, ttfn!

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha I'm so sorry it was such an ugli pain to eat! I'm glad it's easy to purch - hate trying to decipher if something mysterious is ripe enough or not!

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

I've never see ugli before! I'll be on the lookout!

HangryPants said...

So cool! I am so boring with my citrus fruits!

Maria said...

Sounds good to me!

Danielle said...

I like how someone decided to name this ugly and unique fruit with similar names that are only slightly spelled different. Odd :)

Roni said...

Is this it?! Maybe we need a toddlers opinion! :~P

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