Pomelo - Behind the Scenes

Last week we bought a pomelo and we tried it yesterday. Usually I just find a picture of something I've tried and attach it to a post, but today I want to create a more in depth look at the experience of trying a pomelo. I'm planning on making this a recurring feature as well.
I have been aware of pomelos for quite some time. Their scientific name is Citrus maxima, which is very befitting for the largest citrus fruit. When I think of what to compare it to size-wise the first thing that comes to mind is 5-pin bowling ball. I can definitely visualize a pomelo rolling down a lane and taking out pins. Pomelos are from South East Asia and, again, are just plain massive, weighing from 1-2kg.
Our pomelo's rind was yellowy-greenish. The inner part of the rind was not what I expected. I'm used to the whitish-yellow that accompanies most citrus fruits, but the pomelo's is whitish-pink. The rind is very thick. I would say at its thinnest it was 1cm and thickest 1.5cm. It was so thick that it wouldn't come off all at once. When you peel off all the skin, there is still a substantial part of the pinky-white rind interior to go before you get at the actual fruit sections. It looks a little funny at this point. There are bumps on the white stuff that make it look an awful lot like chicken skin.

Once you peel off the tricky, multi-layered rind you get to the good stuff. The skin on each individual piece of pomelo is quite thick. I just peeled it off as well and just ate the little, juice pouches. So, after nearly 10 minutes we get to the point where we can actually try the thing. A pomelo tastes like a mild grapefruit. Imagine a grapefruit without all the bitterness and that's nearly a what a pomelo tastes like. It has a slight aftertaste that can only be described as Chinese, but that's understandable from a fruit from South East Asia. I enjoy the taste very much.
The pomelo we had had very small seeds. I don't think any were bigger than the head of a pin, but I think that it was just a very good time in its development to eat it. I imagine when fully developed the seeds would be just plain massive, like the fruit itself.

One note of caution when peeling and eating a pomelo. It is a citrus fruit, so be wary of squirting. Be wary of squirting on a scale you've never experienced before. A pomelo is at least three times bigger than an orange, but its squirting capability is probably 3 squared. I consider myself lucky, since my glasses shielded my eyes from any stray liquid jetting across the kitchen. An orange will make your fingertips messy, while a pomelo will have your hands messy and sticky down to the wrists.
A pomelo is like a big, mild, difficult grapefruit and definitely makes you work hard for the pleasure of eating it. To get the most of the experience I would say you should definitely give your self a solid 20 minutes. Also, do it with someone. It makes the peeling easier if you do it in shifts and a pomelo is a lot of fruit for the eating (even with its massive rind).

VERDICT: Make, the entire production involved prevents it from being a favourite, but the great taste can't be ignored.

Guest Post - Egg Nog

This creamy beverage has been my arch nemesis my entire life - honestly! Year after year my family insisted that I have never tried it, so each Christmas I was forced to try a sip, only to prove time and time again that I do not like it!

This year, I was feeling all grown up and so I decided to try some of my own free will (it was inevitable, and I decided to get it over with early on in the holiday season). It took me a moment to get over that something chickeny or eggy was in the carton with the milk, but Terrell poured a glass and I had a sip. You see, I have recently started to enjoy the occasional glass of 2% milk, and so I though perhaps my change of heart would include 'nog as well (despite the "egg" factor).

My first thought was "hmm...creamy" which quickly changed to yuck. I am not sure what it is, but I don't like whatever is happening in the middle/end of egg nog's taste - is it black liquorice? Some weird and un-enjoyable taste hit my tongue and stayed in my mouth until I chugged a glass of water. Ick.

VERDICT: It's (still) offical. I DO NOT LIKE EGG NOG!

Photo borrow from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ruB74uRlj8Su9CxXcghCrjOc8l6WHhsj4N8f9U0vo2N-wpn0V6ZRxXEzqec-kQ4yJNTkXA2Cu1Z8Nl1ZwBrACIyYG6ulQtBhVKubnDOX0bq2tdc8p0sQCPxVj8DoOSjoI6tZRZpuwwZH/s320/Egg+Nog.jpg

White Grapefruit

We went shopping today and picked up a variety of citrus fruits I had yet to try. One of them was a white grapefruit. Until today I had no idea that a white grapefruit existed. I guess if the term pink grapefruit exists it should hint at another variety, but I just didn't clue in.
Trying one wasn't much of a challenge. I have grown up eating grapefruits, of the pink variety, and really like them. Using the tiny spoon is very enjoyable. So, since I already know what it tasted like (great) I figure I should have at least something to report on the experience. I know why a lot of people just cut their grapefruit in half and scoop out the tasty bits. Grapefruits are very hard to peel. I was glad I started with a nice serrated knife or it would have taken me over five minutes to peel the thing.
For future reference, if you don't want to just slice the thing in half, bring the right tools to peel your grapefruit.
VERDICT: Make, since it isn't quite a favourite but I do like it.

Apple Pie

Pie is scary. It is just too much to take in and make sense of. I have come to terms with pudding based pies and will admit to actually liking chocolate and lemon pies. From these pies I have discovered that I love pie crust. This has me warming to pie in general, since you can't have pie crust without pie.

However, apple pie is still scary, but not scary beyond all reason, since I have a very good reason: cooked apple! I can't get beyond that. It is just plain wrong. It's like biting into fruity leather and that is not for me, no way, no how. I don't mind the spices mixed with the apple taste, but the cooked apple ruins that. Maybe if it was puréed. More like an applesauce pie. If I wasn't afraid of applesauce I just might like that.
I think it is sad that cooked apples have ruined pie for me to the point where I am just recovering now. It's not like I dislike anything else in pie. If apple pies were just crust and crumble I'd have them everyday. It's the cooked apple that's tainted my view. I don't like it in pie, in apple crisp, in anything else it is used in.
I have tried apple pie a few times over the years and it is always the same. Not even à la mode can help it. When it is an option I just ask for ice cream, if I'm very lucky I can score some whip cream à la mode. Apple pie can never match that!
VERDICT: Gross, while I've had it to be polite those tastes have just confirmed my dislike for it.

photo borrowed from http://www.colleenhammond.com/blog/2009/07/apple-pie-recipe/

Holiday Recap

There is a lot of food around during Christmas and the surrounding holidays. Since a lot of it is traditional and I am picky there are a lot of foods I traditionally don't eat.
Turkey is not one of those foods, however, it is not a food I enjoy. Turkey is definitely on my Owen List­. I just can't bring myself to like it. I don't understand how anyone looks forward to it. I also feel like way too many holidays are celebrated with turkey. Christmas? Turkey! Thanksgiving? Turkey! St. Patrick's? Turkey! If it could be cut down to just one that would be great.
However, the dressing/stuffing from the turkey is another matter entirely. I was introduced to it in the latter part of high school and have never looked back. I figure I have to make up for all the years I was afraid to eat it. I could eat stuffing as a main dish. Yet, it is paired with turkey, so if I escape turkey, stuffing goes with it. It would be very wasteful of me to suggest cooking turkeys just for the stuffing and throwing the turkey out afterward.
I'm warming up to gravy. Poutine is helping a lot in that regard. I like thin gravy more than thick, Jell-o gravy.

I'm still avoiding cranberry sauce. It is definitely a stronghold of pickiness in me. Maybe it makes turkey worth eating? I just don't want to know.

I love Kristin's family's tradition of Christmas Brunch. Bacon, eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns could usurp turkey's stranglehold on celebratory dining any day. They should have their own holiday too. Maybe the Republic of Bacon could make it happen.

Long live bacon!

One food I tried this holiday was Spaghetti squash parmesana. As much as it sounds, it is not a combination of chicken parmesana and spaghetti. THAT would be great, but the squash messes it all up. It's all wet and vegetably. The marinara helps mask it, but not enough. VERDICT: Polite.

picture borrowed from http://www.republicofbacon.com/images/splitter_image_flag.gif

I ♥ hamburgers!

Holidays and travel have postponed this month's I ♥ hamburgers a few days, but just think of it as a flight: great when it arrives on time, but never really expected to ;)

Kristin and her family have always told me about the hamburgers at Choy's restaurant. It used to be in Strathclair, but now resides in Shoal Lake, a town away. Kristin says it is one of her favourites. Janna used to hide her unfinished cheeseburgers under the table, but now she just splits them between three people so nothing goes to waste.

I was happy to end up at Choy's between Christmas and New Year's to visit a friend of Kristin before he heads off to Macedonia. We all got hamburgers. I was feeling particularly hungry, so I ordered the double cheeseburger with fries. It comes with relish and fried onions, oh and of course cheese. I took the onions off and got ready for the Choy's experience. Normally I would have added ketchup to a burger such as this, but I wanted the authentic taste... okay, I was too timid to ask the server when she came around, so had to do without. A Choy's burger is on the small end of the burger spectrum, easily grasped by one hand. The patties are very meat-y and finely ground. They have the chinese burger taste, which is so good, and probably so MSG. The bun is like a regular bun you could buy at the store except slightly greasy. Overall, it was quite good, but the burger was a bit dry. That is probably my fault for removing the onions, so next time I'll ask for ketchup and it will be excellent.

photo borrowed from Choy's menu (http://www.mts.net/~choy1/biz_menu_canad.htm)