Bitter Sweet Breakfast

- Melissa King

High on the 1950s dieter’s list were grapefruit halves, a breakfast staple that was delicately deconstructed, segment by segment, with a side of dry toast and black coffee.In the 1970s they were often dusted with a sprinkling of sugar and served with a glâcé cherry to balance out the sourness.

But humble grapefruit halves have come a long way since then. These days, you’ll fi nd them grilled, fried or caramelised and dressed up with any combination of honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and pistachios.

The grapefruit halves served at Kellerman’s in the movie Dirty Dancing, set in 1963, were most certainly ‘Duncan’ grapefruits. (Excuse my reference to DD — I am from that generation.)

The famed yellow variety, full of fl avour and seeds, was once called the “Cadillac of grapefruits” by American consumers. It’s now virtually impossible to fi nd, though sources tell me it might be making a comeback.

Goldilocks would have liked grapefruit: not too sour and not too candy-sweet, rather it’s the perfect combination of sweet zesty fl avour and bitter citrus zing. In the garden, grapefruit trees make lovely evergreen features, fruiting screens or hedges.