Rio Grande Red - 4.5-5.5 oz

Grapefruit is Nature's hybrid mix (an accidental crossing) of orange and pomelo in Barbados.  It was officially documented around 1750.  In 1929, a Texas red grapefruit was discovered growing on a pink variety of grapefruit tree and subsequently patented under the name Ruby Red.  This was the first grapefruit patented in the United States.

Red grapefruits have always held fascination for me.  They just look sweeter and juicer with that color.  Citrus is a good immune system booster while it is also calming.  Satisfying taste is a bonus.  As I was enjoying a red beauty, I thought about the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas where citrus is grown.

Did you know the Rio Grande River is about 1900 miles long?  It starts at 12,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and flows through canyons and forests, forms the Rio Grande Gorge and White Rock Canyon in northern New Mexico, and visits cold steppe as well as hot steppe desert climates.  As it flows all the way to the Gulf of Mexico the river cuts three canyons across the "big bend" where the Texas side of the river is Big Bend National Park.  

The river slowly crosses the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas and ends in a fertile delta where it joins the Gulf of Mexico.  This is the Lower Rio Grande Valley where the Rio Grande River provides water to 2,100,000 acres for irrigation of cropland, including citrus fruits, cotton, and vegetables.