Wondering how to make grapefruit taste less bitter? Alton Brown's Grapefruit Brûlée recipe is best to balance the bitterness for a tasty breakfast treat. Try it today.
Grapefruit's bitterness is balanced by a blend of sugar and salt in this simple breakfast application. Consider the curious case of grapefruit, whose fruity flavors are typically overpowered by naringin, a powerful antioxidant, which can be good medicine if you can get past its intense bitterness. Balancing out the bitterness would take far more than a spoonful of sugar, but adding a dash of salt, we can squelch that bitterness far more effectively than with sugar alone. In fact, I never make dessert without adding a little pinch of salt. This recipe first appeared in Season 13 of Good Eats. Photo by Lynne Calamia
Halve each grapefruit crosswise, and cut a thin slice off the bottom of each half to stabilize the pieces. Remove all seeds from the grapefruit, and loosen the segments with a paring knife.
Sprinkle each half evenly with the sugar. Using a blowtorch, melt the sugar to form a golden brown and crispy surface. Sprinkle the hot sugar with the salt, and serve immediately.