Who You Callin' Ugly?!?

Fruits and vegetables...a photographer's dream. "Eat the rainbow," the nutritionists say as they promote both the beauty and the health advantages of eating fresh produce. But wait! Among all the reds, yellows, greens, and purples at Daisy Mae's Market sits the lowly Ugli Fruit. It's wrinkly. It's "sort of yellowish." It's just plain ugly. But just like Mom used to say..."Don't judge a book by its cover." It's what's inside that counts.
The Ugli Fruit is a type of tangelo grown in Jamaica and available from about November through April. The original cross between a grapefruit, a Seville orange, and a tangerine has been tweaked a bit to arrive at our present-day Ugli Fruit, sweet and tangy. The fruit is easy to peel and eat like a tangerine, or it can be halved and eaten like a grapefruit. Either way the orange flesh inside is low in calories and high in Vitamin C and fiber. And something else interesting...If you can't eat grapefruit because of certain medications you take, you may be able to eat Ugli Fruit. It contains no furanocoumarins so check with your doctor to see if you can add Ugli Fruit to your diet.
Next time you're at Findlay Market, enjoy the sights of all the beautiful produce. But don't neglect the not-so-attractive Ugli Fruit. This ugly stepsister of the citrus family is great for snacking and for making juice. In fact, she may turn out to be your main squeeze!