Hollieanna Groves Ruby Red Grapefruit — 'Fabulous'

On January 18 Judith Weinraub wrote in the Washington Post Food section about the results of a taste–off of mail–order citrus conducted by a panel of food experts.

So as not to offend any company that might some day advertise in the paper (my supposition — but I'd put good money on it) the results were listed not in order of quality but, rather, alphabetically.

However, a close reading reveals the winner: the "lovely" Hollieanna Groves Ruby Red Grapefruit (above).

Here's the article.

Citrus by Mail, Worth the Wait

Citrus by mail? With all those supermarket bins full of fruit?

Nobody's suggesting you make a habit of it, but there are lots of reasons to treat yourself to the really good fruit available online or by phone:

• You can eat fruit at the height of its season. Many online citrus sites not only sell their fruit when it's due to come off the trees, but also help you order it with explanatory charts and lists.

• You have access to terrific fruit that would probably never make it to your local grocery or chain store -- either because it's top of the line and saved for this market, or because supermarkets don't want to spend the extra time and money required to stock specialty fruits.

• Fruit bought this way is fresh. "It hasn't been in a warehouse or a cooler in a packinghouse for three weeks," says Allen Cushman, whose family has been marketing Florida citrus since 1945.

This year's fruit crop was pummeled when four storms barreled through Florida, the world's largest grapefruit producer. On Oct. 24, when much of the fruit on the trees was too heavy to withstand the winds, Hurricane Wilma was devastating. Its path was particularly tough on the grapefruit groves and, according to Florida Citrus Mutual, Florida's largest association of citrus growers, took out 47 percent of the crop.

The Food section was curious about how this year's specialty crop fared, and ordered examples of citrus not regularly available in local stores. The fruit was ordered just before Christmas, requesting delivery dates in the first week of January. The growers don't guarantee delivery dates, but do try to accommodate their customers.

Of the seven we requested, two deliveries arrived within 10 days, three came within two weeks, and one, arriving after three weeks, was too late for our tasting. Another company took time off after Christmas and told us they could not deliver in a timely manner.

We sampled the fruit with two experts.

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How do you recognize good citrus? It's not as easy as you'd think. Of course the fruit shouldn't look banged-up or bruised, but green or brown blotches on the outside don't reveal much about the inside. Weight is what counts. Citrus should be firm to the touch and heavy for its size. A weighty orange is more likely to be juicy than a light (dry) one. And stiffness can be a sign of frost damage.

When you cut into citrus, its aroma should always be appealing. A thin skin is a good indicator, too -- fruits with thick skin were usually developed for ease of long-distance transportation. As for the taste, that's somewhat personal. In general, citrus, like wine, is assessed by the intricacy of its flavor and also by the balance of sweet and sour (sugar and acid). Sweetness isn't necessarily a sign of good fruit, however, especially in grapefruit.

To help us evaluate some specialty fruits from Florida companies, we asked two experts to help us out: Bonnie Moore, a former sous-chef at the Inn at Little Washington who is now the culinary director and executive chef at Foodfit.com; and Dean Gold, co-owner of Dino restaurant in Cleveland Park, who worked as a buying coordinator and executive at the Fresh Fields and Whole Foods companies for 10 years. Here are their assessments (companies are in alphabetical order; prices include shipping and handling).

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Blood's Hammock Groves — http://www.bloodsgroves.com, 800-255-5188. One tray Rosalie Red grapefruit, $36.95.

These Rosalie Reds were particularly pretty, with a touch of pink on the outside and a deep rosy red inside. Marketed as sweet grapefruit, the Rosalie Reds were a bit too sweet for our tasters, who preferred a more astringent, but not bitter, taste. "But they're probably not sweet enough for kids," said Moore. "They're good for eating now," said Gold, "but somewhat bland, without a lot of flavor or aromatics."

Cushman's Limited Edition Fruit — http://www.honeybell.com, 800-776-7575. HoneyBells, 14 pounds, $42.94.

HoneyBells look like oranges with a knobby top. They're usually sweeter than oranges, and about 80 percent of them are seedless. Called tangelos by some companies, HoneyBells are a hybrid of a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit and are available only in January. Ours, which were ordered from Allen Cushman, the son of the man who named them, were heavy and firm but not hard. Moore and Gold liked their smell and taste, noting a little spice and hints of honey, but found them a little sugary.

"They're very low acid," said Gold. "Good for kids. And they would add a real brightness to a fruit salad." They also praised the small center core surrounded by nicely connected segments that did not pull apart from one another. "The sacks are very juicy and plump," said Gold. "When you cut through them, they don't collapse. They hold the juice." A good-quality fruit overall, said our tasters.

Hale Indian River Groves — http://hales.com, Empire Nova tangelos, approximately 10 pounds, $25.93 .

Rounder than Cushman's HoneyBells and a deep orange color, these tangelos were heavy for their size, and juicy. "They're really fragrant and really good," said Moore: "Both orangey and spicy with a taste of honey." Gold praised the fruit, too. "There's a lot of tangerine flavor, and nicely sweet with a strong tangy component," he said. "Kids would like them. And they'd make fabulous juice."

We included these in the tasting because the judges liked them so much. But we seem to have received the last batch: They won't be available again until November.

Hollieanna Groves — http://www.hollieanna.com, 800-793-7848. Half-bushel of grapefruit, half Ruby Red and half Marsh White, $42.90.

Our tasting wasn't set up as a competition, but the Ruby Red grapefruit from Hollieanna was the runaway star. Our tasters praised them for their nice heavy feel, their excellent interior condition and, most of all, for their taste. "They're not very sweet," said Gold. "They have real tang and a lovely bitter aftertaste. "Not for mass-market America," said Moore. "Kids probably wouldn't flock to them. But to me, they have much more versatility -- you can eat them out of hand, cook with them, play off their bitterness, and they're a real palate cleanser. "

The Marsh White grapefruit was somewhat plain, according to our experts, a little bland and very acidic. "I look for more flavor, more balance between sweet and sour," said Gold. "Disappointing," said Moore.

Policicchio Groves — http://www.juicycitrus.com, 321-452-4866. Star Ruby Grapefruit, 1 tray ( quarter-bushel), $33.90 .

If judged on their looks, these grapefruit would have been tossed aside. Their shape was fine, but the dark brown patches on the skin were leathery and made them look damaged. Their weight was good, however, and when cut open, they were a beautiful ruby red and exuded an appealing aroma. "They're delicious," said both tasters. "They have the complex flavor [of the Hollieanna Ruby Reds]," said Gold, judging these "only a little less fabulous."

"Kids wouldn't like these," said Moore, "but chefs would. They have a pleasant bitterness that would go well as part of a salad with avocado, bibb lettuce, some of the juice, olive oil and salt."

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Ordering Tips

• Order citrus from companies that grow it. That way there's no lag time between picking the fruit and sending it.

• Allow at least two to three weeks delivery time.

• After you place an order, make sure you receive confirmation with an order number.

• Once you have an identifying order number, track your fruit so that someone can be at home when it arrives. It should be promptly unpacked and refrigerated. If it seems damp, dry each piece.