Grapefruit is thought to have originated by accident: botanists believe it is a hybrid created through the chance crossing of sweet orange and pomelo. Pink Grapefruit essential oil is cold pressed from the peel and has a sweet, citrusy aroma.
Plant details
Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) is a subtropical tree in the Rutaceae family. It is a citrus hybrid originating from a cross between the Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis) and the Pomelo (Citrus maxima). The trees usually grow 20 to 30 feet tall, with some reaching 50 feet. They have dense foliage with long, thin, glossy leaves.
The fruit is large with yellow-orange skin and segmented flesh that varies by cultivar from pale yellow to red and from sour to semi-sweet, with redder varieties generally sweeter. The fruits grow in grape-like clusters on the tree, which is the source of the name. Grapefruit trees mature quickly, producing substantial crops within 4 to 6 years of planting. A mature tree at the height of its production can yield 1200 to 1500 pounds of fruit each season.
History
Grapefruit is one of the more recently recorded citrus fruits. It was first described in 1750 on the island of Barbados by the Welsh naturalist Reverend Griffith Hughes, who had traveled there in search of the tree from the Garden of Eden. In The Natural History of Barbados he nicknamed it the "forbidden fruit." By 1789 that name had spread to Jamaica, where the fruit was also called the "smaller shaddock," shaddock being another term for pomelo. In 1814 the Jamaican planter John Lunan described it in his Hortus Jamaicensis. This is where it was first called grapefruit, because it grows on the tree in clusters, like grapes.
Grapefruit was introduced to Florida in 1823 by Odet Phillipe, a French immigrant who was one of the first permanent settlers of Pinellas County. It was grown at first only as a novelty. The fruit was still classified with the pomelo until 1837, when botanist James MacFayden separated the two in his Flora of Jamaica and gave it the botanical name Citrus paradisi, the "fruit of paradise." In 1870, Florida settler John MacDonald planted the first grapefruit nursery in Orange County.
Extraction and aroma
Grapefruits grown for essential oil are harvested when the fruit is ripe and the peel begins to turn yellow. They are still mostly picked by hand, using ladders to reach the higher branches. The oil is extracted from the peel by cold pressing. This is harder than with other citrus fruits because the oil glands sit much deeper in the peel, which makes the process longer and more intricate.
Grapefruit essential oil has a sweet, citrusy aroma and ranges in color from pale to darker yellow. Like other citrus oils it can be photosensitizing to the skin, so it is diluted in a carrier oil for any product that stays on the skin.
How makers use grapefruit
Grapefruit oil is used to scent household cleaners and skincare products such as cleansers. In the recipes below it is blended with bergamot and peppermint in a diffuser, with frankincense in a foaming cleanser, and used on its own in a bath soak.
Recipes
Grapefruit, Bergamot and Peppermint Diffuser Blend
- 4 parts Grapefruit Essential Oil
- 3 parts Bergamot Essential Oil
- 2 parts Peppermint Essential Oil
The original recipe uses about 0.45 mL of oil in total.
Grapefruit and Frankincense Foaming Cleanser
Ingredients
- 16 oz Foaming Soap Dispenser
- ½ cup Unscented Liquid Castile Soap
- ½ cup Distilled Water
- 15 mL Sweet Almond Oil
- 15 mL Aloe Vera Oil
- 15 mL Vegetable Glycerin
- 0.5 mL Grapefruit Essential Oil
- 0.25 mL Frankincense Essential Oil
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to the foaming soap dispenser, replace the top and shake well to combine.
Grapefruit and Green Tea Bath Soak
Ingredients
- ½ cup Coarse Mineral Sea Salt
- ½ cup Epsom Salt
- ½ cup Loose Green Tea
- 1 cup Baking Soda
- 1 mL Jojoba Oil
- 0.5 mL Grapefruit Essential Oil
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a large jar and stir thoroughly to combine. Add about one cup of the mixture to a warm bath.
Find the oil used in these recipes here: Pink Grapefruit essential oil.
