Ugli Fruit

The ugli or ugli fruit is a Jamaican form of tangelo, a citrus fruit created by hybridizing a grapefruit (or pomelo), an orange and a tangerine. 

Its species is Citrus Reticulata × Citrus Paradisi.  It was discovered growing wild in Jamaica over 80 years ago and has been developed by the family of the owners of Trout Hall Ltd. into the commercial variety now in production. The original tree is believed to have been a hybrid formed from the Seville orange, the grapefruit and the tangerine families. Since 1924 when it was first discovered several improved scions have been used by Trout Hall Ltd. to produce the current variety which is so popular. The fruit is seasonal from December to April.

It is indeed a rather ugly fruit - mostly green and wrinkled until it is fully ripe, when it turns orange like ours. This fruit has various, odd shapes and its skin is pot-marked. It looks like a giant yellow-green mandarin orange. The skin is thickest at the neck, with large pores and quite a knobby appearance. The color of the gnarled skin varies from all green to yellow to tinged with orange, which tells you nothing about fruit quality. They are easily peeled and may be eaten like a tangerine, or cut in half and eaten like a grapefruit. The pegs and juice may be used to make many sumptuous sweet and savory recipes as the fruit is remarkably juicy, and squeeze easily for refreshing drinks. The taste is often described as more sour than an orange and less bitter than a tangerine, however, and is more commonly guessed to be a lemon-tangerine hybrid. The juice is delicious warmed as a hot toddy with rum, and sweetened with honey or brown sugar, or used to make ice creams and soufflés. Peel, slice away the pith and cut out the segments to use in a salad, as a cheesecake topping, or on its own as a dessert drizzled with sherry or Kirsch. The peel and juice together make marvelous marmalade. 

The large citrus fruit is packed with certain vitamins and minerals, and has only 45 calories per serving, making it a nutritious addition to your diet. A serving of ugli fruit, which is equal to about half of the fruit, contains 2 grams of dietary fiber. The high vitamin C content in a serving of ugli fruit is another health benefit. A serving of ugli fruit contains 70 percent of the 75 to 90 milligrams of vitamin C you need each day. Vitamin C helps keep your immune system strong and acts an antioxidant to destroy free radicals, harmful substances that cause inflammation and tissue damage throughout your body. Over time, this damage can lead to chronic health problems such as cancer. Vitamin C is also essential for the formation of collagen, the connective tissue in your gums, muscles, skin and tissues. Collagen is also necessary for wound healing. Ugli fruit contains 0 grams of fat and no cholesterol. A serving of ugli fruit supplies 2 percent of the 1,000 milligrams of calcium you need each day for strong bones and teeth. The same serving supplies 1 gram of protein, a nutrient that enables your body to repair and regenerate cells and also helps give you energy. gli fruit can be eaten on its own, but also makes a tasty addition to certain recipes. Add ugli fruit sections to a fruit salad, or replace orange juice with ugli fruit juice in your favorite marinade or sauce recipe. Have a glass of freshly squeezed ugli fruit juice for breakfast, or use the juice in your favorite fruit smoothie in place of orange juice. Make a salad rich in fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C by combining spinach leaves, ugli fruit sections, avocado cubes and sliced strawberries. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and season with black pepper. Add cooked shrimp to increase the protein content of the salad. 

References taken from :- Ugli, wikipedia, the kitchen, healthyeating, whatscookingamerica, straubs. 

(all the pictures are sourced from internet)