What is the difference between Shatian pomelo and honey pomelo? A quick guide to telling them apart

Shatian pomelo is a plant of the genus Citrus in the family Rutaceae, named because it was first planted in Shatian Village, Rong County, Guangxi more than two hundred years ago. Honey pomelo is a type of high-quality pomelo, mostly seen growing in the south, and the pomelo produced in Dabu, Meizhou, Guangdong is the most famous. It is recognized by the medical field as the fruit with the greatest therapeutic benefits. Let's take a look below at the difference between Shatian pomelo and honey pomelo!

Where is the producing area of Shatian pomelo?

Shatian pomelo is a local specialty of Rong County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Because it was first planted in Shatian Village, Rong County, Guangxi, it is called Shatian pomelo. As early as the 1930s, it was exported to Hong Kong, China, Nanyang, Europe and the Americas. It has now been expanded to the Xunjiang, Longjiang, Guijiang, Lijiang and Hongshui River basins in Guangxi and other places, and has also been introduced to Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Jiangxi successively. In 2013, Guangxi became the largest concentrated production area of Shatian pomelo in China, with a planting area of several hundred thousand mu across the autonomous region.

Where is the producing area of honey pomelo?

Honey pomelo originated in Fujian. It has now been introduced in most areas of southern China (Hubei, Chongqing, Hunan, Guangdong and other provinces). When introduced in the tropics, the taste of the fruit is no different from that of the place of origin, but after introduction to the subtropics, the peel becomes slightly thicker and the sour taste decreases. The most famous producing areas are Xilin, Nansheng, Banzi and other places in Xiaoxi Town, Pinghe County. The common varieties include white-fleshed pomelo, red-hearted honey pomelo, three-red honey pomelo and three-red honey pomelo, four varieties in total.

The difference between Shatian pomelo and honey pomelo

1. Appearance: The skin of Shatian pomelo is relatively rough, and the fruit shape is mostly pear-shaped. The weight is generally just over one or two jin, not exceeding three or four jin. Honey pomelo, by contrast, easily weighs three or four jin each, and is also large and round, and the outer skin feels very smooth. If you put the same honey pomelo and Shatian pomelo together for comparison, the difference will feel quite obvious.

2. Inner flesh: The cut skin of Shatian pomelo is relatively thicker, and the fruit part is very tight and hard to tear apart. Each segment of flesh is wrapped completely, and the peel will not split open. The cut skin of honey pomelo is slightly thinner, and the middle of the flesh may be hollow in some cases.

3. Seeds: The seeds of Shatian pomelo and honey pomelo are also very different. The seeds of Shatian pomelo are relatively large, while the seeds of honey pomelo are relatively small.

4. Sweetness: The taste of Shatian pomelo is purely sweet, sweet with no unexpected or impure feeling, and there is not much residue. It tastes sweet and delicious, leaving a pleasant fragrance in the mouth. Honey pomelo, by contrast, is very rich in juice, somewhat richer than Shatian pomelo, with abundant juice and thick flesh, but the sour taste is slightly stronger, with sourness mixed into the sweetness.