Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

ugli a fruit of Jamaican origin, unkindly so named. It belongs to the category of citrus fruits called tangelos (see mandarin), which are hybrids of mandarin and grapefruit, but markedly different from either parent. An ugli may be almost as big as a pomelo, over 15 cm (6") in diameter and 1 kg (more than 2 lb) in weight, but much of it consists in a thick, baggy rind. The rind has a pulled-up appearance at the top, like a kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck. Despite its thickness, it is easily peelable and has a fine fragrance of citron (unlike any other mandarin, tangelo, or pomelo). The segments of flesh separate freely like those of the pomelo, but have a different flavour, more like that of a mandarin, barely bitter and with a faint overtone of honey or pineapple.