African Shaddock

Posted: March 14th, 2010 | Author: Matt | Filed under: Made at Home | Tags: african shaddock, citrus, fruit, market, produce | 1 Comment »

I miss Bi-rite Market, San Francisco’s sweetest depot for fresh-from-the-orchard fruits. I miss it so much that when fine citrus comes marching into the city, I am willing to pay top dollar to try and reclaim some of that old thrill – it’s not unusual to pay $1.50 for a killer navel. (but, damn, it can be worth the exorbitant  price)

The African Shaddock took it to another level. Weighing in at $6.50 per 2 pound fruit, it’s a truly absurd price, but the slope was slippery and the appetite whet. Lauren pushed and we slid.

Wow. It was worth it. We even went back for another. Miraculously, Marlow & Daughters managed to sell the bushel out.

The Shaddock is protected by a bullet-proof, thick skin, pitch you have to burrow through and a waxy skin between each segment that puts your most difficult grapefruit to shame. Luckily, all that structure holds itself together as you peel it away, revealing juicy gems of citrus underneath. If you’ve ever been a fan of grapes without skin or an orange fully supremed, you’ll love the yield.

We imagined it fully cleaned and crumbled up to make a sort of special citrus salad. It could stand in for a Pomelo if you could afford it.

We later read it had been used to perfume rooms in it’s native habitat of Southeastern Asia and adopted home of South Africa. Ours came from California, truly fragrant, rich with ruby red citrus flavor and truly floral. No searing acidity, meaty, balanced and so flavorful you might imagine it was MSG enhanced.

If you want one, Deer Creek Heights Ranch will mail it to you for $10.

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