My Grapefruit Tree is out of Control!
My neighbor has this big, huge, gorgeous grapefruit tree in his yard. It grows over the fence and is FILLED with fat, ripe grapefruits.
I love grapefruit and am in no way complaining. 
I just need some ideas so my kids and I can eat the grapefruits before the ants do!
So, creative moms, other than sitting in the backyard, peeling and eating these juicy beasts, what can I make with them?
I tried squeezing a few grapefruits and adding the juice to my red wine and that was quite tasty, but I don’t think I can drink enough wine to get these grapefruits eaten. (Although there’s an idea…)
I’ll try to post a picture of this tree in a bit. You won’t believe how huge it is!
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February 23rd, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I wish I could help you Nicole, but unfortunately I don’t care for grapefruit so I have no idea what you can do with it other than peeling and eating or juicing it.
Maybe try baking some bread or cake with it? Here is a site that has a grapefruite yogurt bread recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/01/cake-paradisi
Also, what about grapefruit smoothies?
HTH!
February 24th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
what about ice cream? I know it sound weird but it might actually be good. In any case, it couldn’t heard to try it. or fruit salad, grapefruit with apples, oranges, and banannas.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Have you tried baking it? You cut it in half as if you were going to eat it with a spoon. Then either drizzle some honey or sprinkle some brown sugar over it and bake it for 10 to 15 minutes.
You could also add some grapefruit juice to your orange juice in the morning.
Last idea … add some to a salad made with young greens and pour a citrus vinaigrette over it.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
One of our favorite things to do with grapefruit is to broil them. I wish I could remember where we first ran across the directions, because now we just wing it. First you cut the grapefruit in half. Then use a grapefruit knife to loosen the fruit from the peel. Don’t take it out of the peel, just cut between the fruit and the peel like you normally would. Place each half flat side up on the broiler pan. Top with thinly sliced butter and brown sugar. Broil until bubbly (watch that you don’t burn them. It goes from bubbly to burn rather quickly. These are absolutely scrumptious.
Tracie
June 19th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
My grandma used to make slush with grapefruit when it was in season. It was SO yummy!
Preparation: Make a simple syrup (2 parts sugar dissolved in 1 part water; boil for 1-2 minutes then cool) and add it to fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice according to the sweetness of the grapefruits and your personal preference. Freeze 3 c. of the sweetened juice in a quart bag.
To serve: Take out of freezer one hour before serving time. Allow frozen juice to partially thaw. Pound with a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet until it is a slushy consistency. Return to freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up a bit. Serve in pretty glass dishes.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I can not eat grapefruit without sprinkling lots of sugar on it. The fruit is very tangy and tart but I eat it occasionally since it is loaded with Vitamin C.
Try something different by broiling it. Cut the grapefruit in half, peel and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle each half with about a tablespoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon or dash with cinnamon sugar and a dab of butter. Broil for about 2 minutes.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Have you thought of making candied grapefruit peel? It’s a little long to do, but the results are GREAT!!!!
First, peel the grapefruit and cut the peel into slices about 1″ by 2″-3″. Scrape off as much of the white stuff as you can without making it a total chore. Then take you grapefruit pieces and put them in a pan with enough water to cover them and boil for a few minutes. Change the water and do it again…and again. After the 3rd time just boil til they are sort of tender. Put in a colendar to drain well.
In the meantime, make a simple syrup of about 2-3 cups of water and 4-5 cups of sugar (depending on how many grapefruits you are doing). Boil the syrup until it is clear. If you want, you can add some cinnamon or vanilla at this point for extra flavor, but it’s not necessary. Press as much water from the peels as possible without totally squashing them (using paper towels) and dump them into the syrup. Cover, turn down to simmer, then cook for about an hour. They’ll get really pretty….bright translucent yellow….almost like a stained glass look. Remove the peels, put them on parchment lined cookie sheets and let dry overnight. The next morning toss these slightly tacky treats into a little more sugar (really pretty if you run the sugar thru your food processer until it’s very fine but not necessary if you don’t want to fool with it…which I don’t) until they’re all covered. Kids and adults both will like these tasty treats. I guess you could “juice” the whole grapefruits and freeze the juice for future use if you wanted.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Silly us….we are forgetting the most obvious. The famous “SALTY DOG.” Simply use 5 oz. grapefruit juice to 1 1/2 oz. vodka. Salt the rim of a glass (wet the rim in grapefruit juice then dip in salt), pour in the concoction over ice and enjoy! Yummy, refreshing and good for you!