The Rise of Ruby Red Grapefruit

Image by zaveqna via Flickr

Each year, American fruit farms ship millions of tons of grapefruit across the country and around the world. With over half of the market, the United States is easily the world leader in grapefruit sales. Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are the only U.S. states that ship grapefruit commercially. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that employs tens of thousands. But what few folks know is that the grapefruit almost didn't make it in America.

That's right! When the grapefruit first came to Florida in 1823, the locals said it was simply too sour. It also didn't help that the grapefruit was not a hand fruit or that the orange had come to the Sunshine State centuries earlier. By the time the first grapefruit crops were planted in Florida, the commercial orange industry was already up and running.

But the grapefruit was given a second stab at glory when farmers from South Texas planted the first crops there in 1893. Most believed that the grapefruit could become a leading agricultural crop in the Lone Star State. Unfortunately, once again, the people did not agree. The taste of the original white and pink varieties of grapefruit was simply too sour, too tart.

Although the fruit was not a hit, some farmers continued to plant small crops. And it's a good thing, too! Because in 1929 a discovery was made that would change the fortunes of the grapefruit in America forever. The discovery was a new variety of grapefruit that was actually quite sweet. This discovery revolutionized the citrus industry and led to new citrus fruit products.

Within the year grapefruit farms were popping up all over South Texas. They were especially popular in a region known as the Rio Grande Valley. Till this day, the region is home to more grapefruit farms per acre than any other place on the planet.

The overwhelming majority of these farms were planting only the new variety, which had been named the Ruby Red grapefruit. As much as any product in history, the Ruby Red grapefruit would come to define the Texas Grapefruit industry. Farmers and scientist even started competing with each other to see who could come up with the reddest and sweetest variety of Ruby Red Grapefruit. The result of all this hard work was popular new varieties like the Rio Red, the Star Ruby and the Marsh Ruby. At present, the Rio Red is the most popular version of the Ruby Red grapefruit in Texas.

By 1962, the Ruby was so popular in Texas that the state officially eliminated the pink and white varieties. Not that it mattered much. By that time few farmers weren't planting them anyway.

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