The last few times of have purchased grapefruit I realized a way I can make them more convenient and not waist one grapefruit. First, I split the bag in half, in case someone wants a whole grapefruit. Then I peel and segment the grapefruit and store all of the segments and juice in the fridge, so all you need to do is scoop yourself what you want and there is no fuss. But, when I say peel, I am not peeling in the sense of an orange, I am using a knife. This eliminates, not only the peel and white pith from the entire fruit but the membrane from each segment as well. Then you are left with a easy snack, an easy addition to a salad or vinaigrette. You also have juice and fruit that is easily juiced for, obviously, fresh grapefruit juice, but also for cocktails like grapefruit margaritas. When you do a large amount at once, it saves lots of time.
1) Have a container, cutting board, and a large sharp knife.
2) With a large sharp knife, cur the top and bottom off of the fruit.
3) Set fruit on a flat side and trim chunks of peel and white pith from the side of the fruit, leaving some in between each trim. (I do this because, if you take large swipes, you loose some of the yummy fruit. This way you are maximizing the flesh you save from the whole process.)
2) With a large sharp knife, cur the top and bottom off of the fruit.
3) Set fruit on a flat side and trim chunks of peel and white pith from the side of the fruit, leaving some in between each trim. (I do this because, if you take large swipes, you loose some of the yummy fruit. This way you are maximizing the flesh you save from the whole process.)
4) Go back around and trim off the small amount of peel and pith left over.
5) At this point, if there seems to be more flesh than usual left in the peel scraps, I will squeeze them over the container and get the juice out of what I missed.
6) This step takes some care, so pay attention to what you are doing. Hold the fruit in your hand so the segments are vertical. Take your sharp knife and run it along both sides of the segment line, known as the membrane. You will cut down to the center of the fruit. As you do this, you will have your perfectly segmented pieces of grapefruit.
7) At this point, you are done, but I like to squeeze what I have left in my hand into the container, and if there is lots of juice on the cutting board, I pour it in the container as well.
Enjoy!
Here are some recipes for segmented grapefruit.
Grapefruit Margarita (found via Pinterest)
Salad from Martha Stewart (one of my favorite salads!)
Until Next Time,
Blair
