October – may from Texas and Florida, year-round from California and Arizona
Look for firm heavy fruit with no soft spots. Newer grapefruit will be shinier on the surface and is perfect for out of hand eating. However, dull, mildly dehydrated skin and slightly softer grapefruit is best for juicing.
Florida varieties
Flame Grapefruit: Flavorful, sweet and juicy. Flesh is red in color and usually seedless.
Ruby Red Grapefruit: Medium to large size, usually flattened at each end. Smooth yellow peel with areas of pink to red blush. Segments have characteristic pink to reddish tinge. Few seeds.
White Seedless Grapefruit: Medium to large size, usually flattened at both ends. Peel is yellow, smooth and thin. White to amber colored flesh and almost seedless. Easy to section. Excellent flavor and plenty of juice.
Texas Grapefruit is available October through May with the Ruby Sweet and Rio Star varieties with the extra sweet Flame variety available November through April.
The Rio Star is a combination of Rio Red and Star Ruby and is the reddest variety; it has a nice blush to the exterior and is very juicy. The Ruby Sweet is a combination of three varieties; the Henderson, the Ray and the Ruby Red. The Flame varieties are the sweetest varieties and are the least red. All three varieties are excellent eating and juicing varieties. Look for firm heavy fruit with no soft spots. Newer grapefruit will be shinier on the surface and is perfect for out of hand eating. However, dull, mildly dehydrated skin and slightly softer grapefruit is best for juicing.
