I remember that there was a grapefruit tree in front of my hometown, tall and upright, full of vicissitudes, and leafy. For as long as I can remember, in the warm and cold spring light, it will bloom a cluster of white flowers, the fragrance is refreshing; in the autumn when the rice is ripe, it also lives up to expectations, and the heavy fruit hangs on the branches. People who return from farm work cut it open with their hands, and the red flesh and oily peel make people miss it infinitely when the grapefruit blossoms and the fruits are ripe.
It's the season of grapefruit blossoms again, smell the incense and look for trees, let's explore it together in the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Citrus maxima, also known as strips, pot mandarins, etc., is a subtropical evergreen tree fruit tree of the genus Citrus of the family Rubiaceae, one of the four major groups of citrus in the world (sweet oranges, broad-skinned citrus, lemon lemons, grapefruit and grapefruit), with a flowering period of 4-5 months and a fruiting period of 9-12 months. The leaves are broadly ovate or oval; the inflorescence is inflorescence, the axillary flowers are sparse; the fruit is spherical, flattened, pear-shaped or broadly conical, pale yellow or yellow-green, the peel is spongy, the oil cells are large, raised, and the fruit heart is soft; the fertile seeds are often irregular polyhedrons with a flat apex. Grapefruit is divided into sour grapefruit and sweet grapefruit by flesh flavor, white grapefruit and red grapefruit by the color of the flesh, and spherical or pear-shaped by fruit shape. However, both sour grapefruit and sweet grapefruit include white and red meat, spherical and pear-shaped.
Teak plants
Plant the grapefruit of the previous year
Teak cultivation has a long history, wide planting, many varieties, the main production of Southeast Asian countries, of which China's grapefruit variety resources and cultivation area are ranked first in the world, Shatian grapefruit, Zhenxi grapefruit, Wendan grapefruit and other varieties have been planted in large quantities, resulting in great economic value. The teak tree has a large leaf area, and the flowers, leaves and fruits emit an aromatic odor, which is a good landscape tree species, which can be both viewed and dustproof.
The flowers and buds of the teak tree
Leaves of the teak tree
The fruit of the grapefruit is a huge treasure, in addition to the edible flesh, the grapefruit peel also contains great development and utilization value. Its spongy medium peel and oil cell-covered exocarp, accounting for more than 30% of the quality of a single fruit, have become important research objects for scientists. Grapefruit peel contains a large number of pectin, flavonoids, dietary fiber and essential oils and other active ingredients, if these ingredients are fully utilized, it will further improve the utilization rate of grapefruit peel, thereby adjusting the industrial structure of China's grapefruit.
Grapefruit ripe fruit
Grapefruit ripe flesh and peel
Seeds of grapefruit
The white flocculent peel of the grapefruit peel is rich in pectin, which is a good raw material for pectin extraction. Pectin has a good emulsification effect, can be used as thickener, gelling agent, etc., stabilize the state of food, and is widely used in food and other industries.
Naring sheath is rich in flavonoids, of which naringin accounts for more than 70% of the total flavonoid content of naring. Naringin is both a typical bitter substance and a good flavor modifier and antioxidant, the content of which directly affects the taste and stability of juice products.
Dietary fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be digested by the human body, known as the "seventh nutrient", and there are two main categories of soluble and insoluble. Dietary fiber has laxative bowel, and added to food and beverages can improve the taste of food. The total dietary fiber content of grapefruit peel is higher than that of wheat bran, which is a rich source of high-quality dietary fiber. The fiber product obtained by using grapefruit peel has a good taste and a unique flavor of grapefruit, which can be widely used in pastry food and has good prospects for development.
Grapefruit with grapefruit scent (image from the Internet)
The epidermal oil cells of the grapefruit skin contain more aromatic substances, and the oily liquid that can be volatilized at room temperature obtained by extracting the aromatic components is the grapefruit essential oil. The aromatic component of burgundy essential oil is mainly derived from naringone, which is fragrant and intense, and due to its strong grapefruit-like aroma, it can be used in grapefruit and other citrus-scented beverage formulations. The grapefruit essential oil has a fresh smell and has a very broad application prospect in tourism, food and cosmetics.
Grapefruit peel essential oil extraction (Popular Science China: Screenshot of The Flower Seeking Video)
Grapefruit essential oil (Popular Science China: Screenshot of The Botanical Fragrance Hunt video)
Tall and scientific means make the active ingredients of grapefruit peel play a major role in industrial production, and convenient and practical people-friendly methods can also make yuzu peel enter thousands of households as a characteristic handmade food. Various foods such as grapefruit skin pickling, grapefruit skin sauce, grapefruit skin tea, honey grapefruit tea, and grapefruit skin noodles are increasingly favored by the public. When the grapefruit is ripe, eat the pulp and start making a special yuzu skin.
Yuzu sauce (Image from the Internet)
bibliography:
1. Deng Guilan,Wei Qianghua,Liu Dongmei. Research on the comprehensive utilization of grapefruit peel[J].Food Industry 2013(9)180-184.
2. Zhang Shuai,Zhang Shaoping. Research progress on extraction and comprehensive utilization of active ingredients of grapefruit peel[J].Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin 2017,33(10):158-164.
Source: Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences