Stockton– Earlier this week, my sister and I were taking a stroll around our neighborhood and were so kindly graced with what I thought was a gigantic lemon. This “gigantic lemon” in question was given to us by one of our neighbors who had a bunch of these fruits growing on their trees. The trees themselves had what looked like lemons and grapefruits growing on them at the same time; the tree also contained leaves of a bright green color.
When arriving home from our walk, the first thing I wanted to do was cut the fruit open to see if it was a grapefruit or a comically large lemon. The fruit had a mixture of the scent of grapefruit and lemon, but the inside was that of the same pale yellow color that lemons typically have; opposed to the vibrant colors that are usually seen in grapefruits. The peel was very thick (which can be good for cooking!) and the inside contained an excessive amount of seeds—much like a lemon would. For me, the taste was just a tad bit too sour on its own, so it was definitely more enjoyable to eat with white sugar sprinkled on top of it. Due to the size of the fruit, there’s definitely enough to enjoy over the span of a few days!
In my curiosity about the fruit I had obtained that afternoon, I fell into a small rabbit hole about the lemon-grapefruit hybrid—which I had grown to learn was called by two different names: “Imperial Lemons” or “Lipo Lemons,” and apparently these fruits will typically become ripe in the fall. I found that this hybrid fruit is a wonderful source of vitamin C, which is really helpful in keeping your immune system happy!
Overall, I think this fruit is definitely worth a try, especially for those who enjoy acidic fruits like grapefruits, oranges or lemons; or if you’d just like to enjoy the experience of cutting open a comically large lemon. Would you try it?
