Sunday, March 8, 2009

Sweet

Before I moved to southern California I had never seen a pomelo.

Walker Farms sells pomelos and other fresh produce from their booth at the Pasadena Farmer's Market. (I especially like their Pink Lady apples.) When I tried photographing the pomelos today, John suggested I get something else in the shot to provide scale. Otherwise, if you're like I once was and have never seen a pomelo, how would you know it's not a grapefruit?

Fortunately, a most charming model happened to be available. Her daddy works at the Walker Farms booth. Her camera-shy dog, J.D., guarded nearby.

In case you're wondering, pomelo tastes milder than grapefruit. And sweet.

Please note the scale. That pomelo is bigger than her head!

30 comments:

Cafe Observer said...

Great pic, P! This goes into your Greatest Hits collection.

JD? Really? I've been looking for him. Probably held hostage all this time by MG! We dogs do tend to be camera shy.

Shell Sherree said...

Wow, one of those should ward off scurvy for quite some time! Lovely pic, Petrea, with the crates in the background as well. Is the small human sitting on a comfie faux-fur rug belonging to JD? Looks like a nice spot for both of them!

Julie said...

Is it all fruit inside or mainly pith?

Laurie Allee said...

Oh Petrea, this is fabulous.

I've never had a pomolo ... now I must try one.

Cheltenhamdailyphoto said...

What a sweet photo. I'd never heard of a pomelo before.

cieldequimper said...

Oh wow! Though they sell "pomelos" over here and I enjoy the sweet, reddish fruit, I have never seen any that size! Great shot!

John Sandel said...

Wait 'til she discovers Bob Kliban.

Hope said...

I've never even heard of a pomelo much less seen one. Wow, that is huge! But I would like to try one after hearing that it's sweeter than a grapefruit.

Jilly said...

How perfectly lovely. She is gorgeous and the yellow boxes so well set off the pomelo. Super pic, Petrea.

We get these in France but not the size of your one. Well, what do they say? Everything is bigger in America!

Anonymous said...

Love this photo. I have the tree, but the fruit falls off 'cause it's too big for the skinny limb.

Vanda said...

I was just going to ask: Is that a giant grapefruit?!!

John Sandel said...

"Everything's bigger in America!"

(What's the French for hubris?)

Petrea Burchard said...

Yes, Cafe, and JD is adorable.

Scurvy? Is that still around? Yes Shell. Girl and dog also shared a Curious George doll.

Julie: the skin is very thick. Click on the Wikipedia link in the post for a picture of the insides.

Merci, Laurie.

Lynn, apparently you need to import them from Versailles, which is where Cieldequimper hails from. I remember strolling along a wonderful market street there.

J remembers, too.

Hope, I'd think pomelos would come to Knoxville from Florida maybe? I wonder where you'd look for them.

Thank you, Jilly. A few CDP bloggers come to mind when I shoot a portrait: Bibi, Selim and you. So when you say "super pic," I'm humbly grateful.

Karin, you are the garden maven! Bananas and now pomelos. I must introduce you to Ken.

Vanda, I was thinking ahead.

J: "arrogance" is close enough. (same word in French). I've never figured out how to do bold and italics here.

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

excellent capture.

Jane Hards Photography said...

It is a terribly sweet image. We have difficulty getting the humble grapefruit here let alone an exotic pomelo.

Christie said...

Wow! What does it taste like?

Virginia said...

Who knew? Never heard of one. CDP rocks !!! Great shot!
V

Word: idyammer. Short for idiot yammer? If the shoe fits!

Dina said...

Ohh this is so sweet! When my Naomi was born, her big (6 yrs.) brother called her a "pomelo shel ahava," a pomelo of love, meaning SO big was the love between them.

USelaine said...

Hey! We were in Paris when I taught you how to do < b > bold < / b > and < i > italics < / i >. But, oh, nevermind.

I too see these in the supermarkets, but have never tried them. Now I'm curious to try. The canniest photographers very astutely select their models to make the sale...

Katie said...

Adorable photo! I'd never heard of pomelos either until I lived in Sarasota, Florida for a few months in 1990 and lived on Pomelo Street (or Avenue or something). They really are huge! I'd say, though, that any place that has "grapefruit" this big, also has over-sized bugs.

Patrizzi Intergarlictica said...

Oh Petrea, are you ever gullible!

Did she give you that story about how the elephantine grapefruit is really pomelo? Right! Like there is such a thing. It's the oldest trick in the citrus industry.

Look at that face. She is a stealthy sweatshirt wearing rose, if I ever saw one. What she'll never tell you in a million years is that her real father is a Smiley-- THE big yellow Smiley Face. You didn't even recognize him, did ya? He has been missing for years. She's probably had him rolling around in that yellow shell game of a stack of crates since the 1970s. Oh, and the dog is not a dog at all--don't even ask the dog's real identity.

We are all just putty in her cute little hands, I tell you. What's next?! A Cabbage Patch Doll that she clams is a stalk of Brussels sprouts when in reality it is her baby sister?

Is there no end to her treacherous innocence? She steals hearts at will!

Run! Run for you life! It's Benjamin Button all over again.

Ms M said...

That's a sweet photo. I've never had a pomelo, but I really like grapefruit. Is it a similar taste?

Petrea Burchard said...

Well thank you all, she is a pomelo shel ahava, isn't she?

A few of you asked how pomelos taste: sort of like a grapefruit but milder and sweeter.

Elaine, I'm sorry. I have a vague memory of your instructions but never copied them down. Now that I see your note I believe I get the drift. We'll see, when I click publish your comment.

Katie, these are locally grown but our bugs are perfectly normal.

Don't worry, Miss H. Benjamin Button bored me so I turned it off after a long, dull, nothing-happening hour.

Dina said...

Tov, Petrea! You will be speaking Hebrew in no time.
ahava,
Dina

Unknown said...

I have a prolific pomelo tree in the back yard. I'll bring a few to the bloggers' picnic on March 28.

Miranda McAfee said...

I haven't had a pomelo but I am eating a pink lady apple right now... oh how i love them.

Unknown said...

That is the most adorable baby of all time, probably because she's mine:) and JD stands for Joe's Dog... Joe is no relation to Danielle... but yes she is adorable and yes polmelo's are huge...

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi Joshua, thanks for visiting the blog and for letting Danielle pose with the pomelo! She's a sweetie all right. And like all children, she's the most adorable baby of all time.

Kris McCracken said...

I love pomelos so very very much.

Pomelo Fanta is the best Fanta that you can get, alas, it has a very limited distribution...

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm now on a quest to find Pomelo Fanta.