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Florida White Grapefruit

Thin skinned, plump and juicy. White Grapefruit is the classic favorite of the locals who know how flavorful and sweet they are. And they’re sure to become your favorite too.

Grapefruit

The grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi), is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the “forbidden fruit.” The fruit has become popular since the late 19th century; before that it was only grown as an ornamental plant. The United States quickly became a major producer of the fruit, with groves in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. In Spanish, the fruit is known as toronja or pomelo.

Pineapple

Pineapple is a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries, and it is named for resemblance to the pine cone. It is known for its sweet flavor. Pineapple may be consumed fresh, canned, juiced, and are found in a wide array of food stuffs – dessert, fruit salad, jam, yogurt, ice cream, candy, and as a complement to meat dishes. In addition to consumption, in the Philippines the pineapple’s leaves are used as the source of a textile fiber called piña, and is employed as a component of wall paper and furnishings, amongst other uses.

Papayas

Deliciously sweet with musky undertones and a soft, butter-like consistency, it is no wonder the papaya was reputably called the “fruit of the angels” by Christopher Columbus. Once considered quite exotic, they can now be found in markets throughout the year. Although there is a slight seasonal peak in early summer and fall, papaya trees produce fruit year round.

Papayas are spherical or pear-shaped fruits that can be as long as 20 inches. The ones commonly found in the market usually average about 7 inches and weigh about one pound. Their flesh is a rich orange color with either yellow or pink hues.

Watermelons

No other fruit says summer like the subtly crunchy, thirst quenching watermelon. Although watermelons can now be found in the markets throughout the year, the season for watermelon is in the summer when they are sweet and of the best quality.

As a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, the watermelon is related to the cantaloupe, squash and pumpkin, other plants that also grow on vines on the ground. Watermelons can be round, oblong or spherical in shape and feature thick green rinds that are often spotted or striped. They range in size from a few pounds to upward of ninety pounds.

Satsuma

There are over 100 different Satsuma, Citrus reticulata, varieties, appropriately labeled mandarins, many of which have a prefix “China” as these hybrids were originally received from Chinese cultivars. The best Satsuma mandarins have attributes that set them apart from lesser known varieties. Their red orange, leathery and oily peel is known as “zipper skin” as it clings so loosely to its flesh that it can be peeled with just a couple of tears. Left behind is a fragrant and juicy segmented flesh nearly ovoid of seeds.

Minneaola or Tangelo

The tangelo is also widely known as the honeybell. Tangelo is a citrus fruit that is a hybrid of a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. The fruits are the size of an adult fist and have a tangerine taste, but are very juicy, to the point of not providing much flesh but producing excellent and plentiful juice. Tangelos generally have loose skin and are easier to peel than oranges. They are easily distinguished from oranges by a characteristic bell shape.

Honeydew

Honeydew has a round to slightly oval shape. The flesh is usually pale green in color, while the smooth peel ranges from greenish to yellow. Like most fruit, honeydew has seeds. Honeydew’s thick, juicy, sweet flesh is often eaten for dessert or breakfast, and is commonly found in supermarkets across the world. This fruit grows best in semiarid climates and is harvested based on maturity, not size.

Corn

Corn grows in “ears,” each of which is covered in rows of kernels that are then protected by the silk-like threads called “corn silk” and encased in a husk. Corn is known scientifically as Zea Mays. This moniker reflects its traditional name, maize, by which it was known to the Native Americans as well as many other cultures throughout the world. Although we often associate corn with the color yellow, it actually comes in host of different varieties featuring an array of different colors, including red, pink, black, purple, and blue.

Avocados

The avocado is colloquially known as the Alligator Pear, reflecting its shape and the leather-like appearance of its skin. Avocado is derived from the Aztec word “ahuacatl”. Avocados are the fruit from Persea americana, a tall evergreen tree that can grow up to 65 feet in height. Avocados vary in weight from 8 ounces to 3 pounds depending upon the variety.