Pomelo

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{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Pomelo | image = Citrus_maxima.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | subclassis = Rosidae | ordo = Sapindales | familia = Rutaceae | genus = Citrus | species = C. maxima | binomial = Citrus maxima | binomial_authority = Merr. }}

The pomelo (or pummelo, pommelo, jabong, or shaddock), Citrus maxima (Merr., Burm. f.), also Citrus grandis (L.), is a citrus fruit, usually a pale green to yellow when ripe, larger than a grapefruit, with sweet flesh and thick spongy rind.

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Cultivation and uses

The pomelo is native to southeastern Asia and all of Malaysia and grows wild on river banks in the Fiji and Friendly Islands. It may have been introduced into China around 100 B.C. It is much cultivated in southern China (Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces) and especially in southern Thailand on the banks to the Tha Chine River; also in Taiwan and southernmost Japan, southern India, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea and Tahiti. It is also grown commercially elsewhere, particularly California and Israel.

The pomelo is also called shaddock after an English sea captain, Captain Shaddock, who introduced the seed to the West Indies in the 17th Century from the Malay Archipelago. In the Pacific and Asia, it is known as the jabong and in Chinese it is called yòuzi (柚子).

The pulp color ranges between clear pale yellow to pink to red, and tastes like a sweet grapefruit. It is the largest citrus fruit, growing as large as 30 cm in diameter and weighing as much as 10 kg; the peel is thick, and sometimes used to make marmalade.

The grapefruit is a hybrid between the pomelo and the orange. In some markets, grapefruits or pomelo/grapefruit crosses will also be sold as "pomelo" or "pummelo".

The tangelo is a hybrid between the pomelo and the tangerine. It has a thicker skin than a tangerine and is less sweet.

It can usually be found in grocery stores in the United States from the late fall until early spring and is sometimes thought of as a Christmas fruit.

The peel of the pomelo is also used in Chinese cooking or candied. In general citrus peel is often used in southern Chinese cuisine for flavouring, especially in sweet soup desserts.