Ugli fruit

Citrus reticulata × Citrus paradisi · Citrus

40 pairings

The ugli fruit is a Jamaican citrus hybrid — a tangelo crossing mandarin with grapefruit (and some pomelo) — wrapped in a loose, knobbly, green-and-orange rind that peels away easily to reveal sweet-tart, juicy, nearly seedless flesh. "Ugli" is a trademark, a play on its homely looks; the fruit inside is prized for tasting milder and sweeter than the grapefruit it resembles.

Picking a good onedrag

Heavy and firm, the loose rind still springyLight and slack, the rind creasing and dull

Shop firmThe all-rounder: segments, juice, zest.Everyday best

HeftSolidly heavy, the rind gives a little

RindStill taut, mostly orange, pores coarsening

Stem endButton gone, the scar dry and pale

Scratched peelFragrant when rubbed, warmer and softer

What to look for, from heavy and firm, the loose rind still springy to light and slack, the rind creasing and dull.

Keeping ittap a band

Its own store is 7–10 °C, not the fridge: below about 6 °C the thick rind pits and stains brown, and it often shows only once the fruit is back on the counter.

Humidity

85–95%

The thick, loose rind is a water store, but dry air still slackens it and sinks the fruit around the button first.

Airflow

Open, not sealed

Loose in a bowl or a slit bag. Sealed damp it sweats under the baggy rind, and green mould walks in through any scar or bruise.

Bleeds the green, never sweetens

It makes almost none itself — under 0.1 µL kg⁻¹ h⁻¹ — and never sweetens off the tree, but apple and banana ethylene bleeds the green from its rind and starts rot at the button.

Preparing