It’s citrus season in Florida. Such a glorious time of the year! We might groan and moan and fuss and complain about the heat in the summer, but this time of the year we are happy Homo sapiens.
Our backyard citrus grove has been very, very good to us and has provided satsumas in addition to Hamlin, navel and Valencia oranges. We planted all those after we built our house.
Way in the back sits a citrus tree that we inherited: a white grapefruit tree. Granted, grapefruit isn’t my favorite citrus fruit. I’m not inclined to enjoy a bitter-tasting food. But when you’ve got a grand tree in your yard that keeps dropping lots and lots of grapefruit, you have to share as many as you can and eat the rest.
I’ve sat out back with my grandchildren, peeled grapefruit and watched them eat them like oranges. These same children eat lemon slices and dill pickles like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe their bitter/sour taste buds haven’t fully developed.
On the other hand, their flavor palates could be more developed than mine. My affinity is for sweet tastes. Bitter and sour are flavor profiles that live miles from sweet profiles. Sweet and I get along just fine. Bitter/sour and I are cordial to each other but would prefer another’s company.
The idea about Hot Toddy Baked Grapefruit came to me the year that I was suffering through bronchitis/sinusitis that seemed resistant to treatment. If I heard “fix yourself a hot toddy” once, I heard it a hundred times. “Mix up lemon juice, honey and rum, heat it up, drink it and you will be amazed how much better you feel”, they would say.
So I tried it. The honey coated my aching throat and gave me some temporary relief. It probably kept the rum from burning the stew out of my throat, too. My cough settled for a little bit.
It seemed like baking a hot toddy grapefruit was a natural progression. At least it seemed like a way to enjoy those tremendous grapefruit. Since we’ve been eating them fixed this way, we haven’t had not one cold. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Perhaps there’s no correlation. You believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I want to believe.
I’ll have another round of Hot Toddy Baked Grapefruit!
Y’all come see us!
Hot Toddy Grapefruit
yield: 4 servings
Cut grapefruit in half. Remove the core ,along with the seeds, and gently loosen the sections being careful not to pierce the skin.
2 grapefruit, halved
2 ounces honey (Tupelo honey is my favorite)
2 ounces rum (or your spirit of choice)
brown sugar for sprinkling
ground cinnamon for sprinkling
Whisk together rum and honey. Divide between the grapefruit halves and pour all over the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so the flavor of rum, honey, brown sugar and cinnamon can permeate the meat of the grapefruit.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Broil for about one minute or until the tops start to brown.
Serve warm. Save a little honey to drizzle on the top of the grapefruit if needed.
Hot Toddy Baked Grapefruit
Ingredients
- Hot Toddy Grapefruit
- yield: 4 servings
- Cut grapefruit in half. Remove the core along with the seeds, and gently loosen the sections being careful not to pierce the skin.
- 2 grapefruit halved
- 2 ounces honey Tupelo honey is my favorite
- 2 ounces rum or your spirit of choice
- brown sugar for sprinkling
- ground cinnamon for sprinkling
Instructions
- Whisk together rum and honey. Divide between the grapefruit halves and pour all over the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so the flavor of rum, honey, brown sugar and cinnamon can permeate the meat of the grapefruit.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Broil for about one minute or until the tops start to brown.
- Serve warm. Save a little honey to drizzle on the top of the grapefruit if needed.
Jean says
Hrrrmp!
Joyce says
I used to love peeling and eating them like oranges, with a little salt sprinkling. My young grandson ate them too. I can’t eat them anymore, because of medication.