It’s juicy, tangy and Jamaican
“WHAT’S THAT?” people would ask with a quizzical look on their face when they see it for the first time. It looks like an orange or grapefruit, slightly resembles a tangerine, but its size and shape say it is neither.
Its oily, wrinkled, thick, spongelike, greenish-yellow rind that looks like the back of a warty toad belies the flavourful tangy juice that is encased in its big tangerine-like pegs. It is not too sweet, nor is it too sour. It is tangy. It is the Ugli fruit. And guess what? It is a Jamaican citrus.
The Ugli fruit originated in Jamaica, near Brown’s Town in St Ann, through the natural hybridisation of a tangerine or orange with a grapefruit, and is thus a tangelo.
Known as the Jamaican tangelo jangelo, and uniq fruit, Ugli seems to be a variation of ugly, which refers to the appearance of the rind.
One Internet source notes that, “It was discovered growing wild in or about 1917, then passed through several generations of budwood grafting, selecting for fewer seeds. It was exported to Canada and England by 1934, and to the United States in 1942 … This teardrop-shaped fruit is larger than a grapefruit and has a thick, rough, greenish-yellow skin that peels off easily. Its flesh is orange and, like other citrus fruits, separated into sections by a white, net-like substance called the pith.”
“The original tree is believed to have been a hybrid formed from the Seville orange, the grapefruit and the tangerine families. Since 1924 when it was first discovered several improved scions have been used … to produce the current variety which is so popular,” another source says. It may not be the prettiest citrus fruit around, but many sources say it is low in calories, and a great source of nutrients. Half of one Ugli fruit (about 100 grams) provides 47 calories. It has no fat, but is chockfull of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, minerals, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, plant compounds known as phenols, among other things.
Refreshing at all temperatures, it’s Jamaica’s citrus gift to the world. The fruit is seasonal from December to April, so it is now in season, and is being sold in Kingston’s Coronation Market for $100 each.