Grapefruit
Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi) is the only citrus fruit that doesn’t originate from the Old World. Lemons, Oranges, Mandarins and all other wonderful juicy citruses were brought to the Americas by adventurous European explorers, but grapefruit is a relatively young species, originating from the late 18th-century Caribbean. Grapefruit is most probably a natural hybrid between the pomelo and the orange, first bred in Barbados. This hybrid fruit is today listed as one of the “Seven Wonders of Barbados,”where Citrus Paradisi is still mentioned as the “Forbidden Fruit.” This intriguing name was not given by the locals, but by the Reverend Griffith Hughes, an 18th century naturalist, who was on the quest of finding the origin of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, from the Garden of Eden. Unusual orange fruits hanging from the lush green branches appeared to him similar to the biblical Golden Apples – the fruit with the promise of knowledge.
