The pomelo ( ; or pummelo, Citrus maxima), also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly eaten and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast and East Asia. As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.
Description
The pomelo tree can be tall, with a trunk, often rather crooked, that is thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches. The petioles (leaf stalks) are distinctly winged. The leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic in shape, and long; they are leathery and dull green above, hairy beneath. The flowers, produced singly or in clusters, are fragrant and yellow-white. It has thicker peel than a grapefruit, and is divided into 11 to 18 segments. The flesh is less acidic than that of the grapefruit.
The pomelo has at least sixty cultivars. The fruit generally contains a few, relatively large seeds, but some cultivars have numerous seeds.
The bitter orange is a naturally occurring hybrid between the pomelo and the mandarin. The bitter orange is a hybrid of wild type mandarin and pomelo; in turn, the lemon is a hybrid of bitter orange and citron, i.e. cultivated lemons have some pomelo ancestry. It may be derived from Dutch .
The specific name maxima is the feminine form of the Latin word meaning "biggest".
One theory for the alternative English name "shaddock" is that it was adopted after the plant's introduction into Barbados by a "Captain Shaddock" of the East India Company (apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s). From there the name spread to Jamaica in 1696.
Taxonomy
In his Herbarium Amboinense, published posthumously in 1741, Georg Eberhard Rumphius named it Limo decumanus.
In 1753, Carl Linnaeus mentioned the plant as a subspecies, Citrus aurantium var grandis. In 1755, Johannes Burman validly described the species from the type specimen, giving it the name Aurantium maximum, now considered a basionym. Linnaeus revisited the taxonomy in 1767, renaming the species as Citrus decumana. In 1917, Elmer Drew Merrill revised and renamed it Citrus maxima. Aurantioideae remains as a subfamily.
As food
Nutrition
Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. A 100-gram reference amount provides of food energy, and is rich in vitamin C (68% of the Daily Value), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).
Culinary
The flesh and juice are edible, and the peel may be candied.
In East Asia, especially in Cantonese cuisine, braised pomelo pith is used to make dishes that are high in fibre and low in fat.
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File:Pomelos for sale, Tapah.jpg|Ipoh pomelos on sale in Malaysia
File:Tam som-o nam pu.JPG|Tam som-o nam pu: spicy Thai pomelo salad with crab extract
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Drug interactions
The pomelo, while not itself toxic, can cause adverse interactions similar to those caused by the grapefruit with a wide range of prescription drugs. These occur by the inhibition of cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of prescription drugs including for example some anti-hypertensives, some anticoagulants, some anticancer agents, some anti-infective agents, some statins, and some immunosuppressants.
Cultivation
The seeds of the pomelo are monoembryonic, producing seedlings with genes from both parents, so they do not breed true to type.
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File:Xiancun - pomelo orchards - DSCF4064.JPG|Pomelos in Fujian
File:Vườn bưởi.jpg|Orchard in Vietnam
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In culture
The pomelo features in cultural and spiritual festivals across Asia. In China, during the Lunar New Year festival, the fruit is offered to ancestors. Its name is similar to the word for "to have" (有, yǒu), making it a symbol of prosperity and family unity. In Thailand, pomelo is used in rituals such as the Songkran festival. In the Hindu festival of Chhath Puja, pomelo is used as an offering.
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File:Chhat Puja with Pomelo.jpg|Chhat Puja with pomelo, India
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