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| Fruit,
Vegetables and Gourds |
Dai Gor,
Chinese Grapefruit or Citrus Grandis |
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A unique Cantonese and south asian fruit
that is a type of Grapefruit. Cantonese simply call
this 'dai gor' which roughly translates as 'big one'.
It has been hybrid for the modern western marketplace,
most notable being the USA 'Chandler'. However, you
will only ever get the genuine article in Canton and
neighbouring Vietnam from late August onwards. Even
in these balmy tropical latitudes, it is very much a
seasonal fruit!
I love these things!
Dai Gor are big - larger than a common grapefruit and
usually approaching 1 foot in diameter. I have no idea
what that is in metric; but you may need two hands to
hold one.
Our Island home in Gaogong (Jiu Jiang in Mandarin) had
one of these trees, which can grow up to three or more
storeys high.
The fruit are amazing! They are a type of grapefruit,
but without the harsh citric acid many people dislike.
Instead they are mellow and delicious. |
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Buy ones that are firm and a consistent yellow
colour. Very often these fruit are sold slightly
under-ripe.This is never a problem if you leave
them to mature; but know the best are picked ripe
from the tree - just before they fall.
Burnt orange is not a good colour for these, as
neither is a brown/black patch - which means it
has dropped a long way to the ground and is being
offloaded on unwary buyers. The best fruit are
a slightly deeper yellow in colour, and should
give slightly when thumb pressure is applied to
the outside.
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To eat them, you are talking
about hacking away the pithy inside layer, rather than
peeling. This can be an inch or more deep, or you can
cheat and simply chop one in half with a Chinese Chopper.
The internal fruit segments are covered with a hard
skin, and it can be hard to even open these. Once inside
there lie a row of stout seeds in the centre that look
like teeth. Don't let this put you off because the actual
flesh is exquisite!
Recipes
I would use these instead of 'Orlimons'
when in season, as their taste is so superb.
Notable recipes include:
* Chinese Mushroom
Soup
* Fan Shei Soup
or Chinese sweet yams
They also give excellent starting flavour and add intrigue
to dishes like Chinese
Hotpot whilst working extremely well with Potatoe
and Broccoli Curry. |
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This information is as supplied by ourselves, and ably
supported by our friends and various internet portals. |
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