What Is the Difference Between the Ugli Fruit and a Tangelo?

The ugli fruit is a hybrid fruit that combines three other citrus fruits: grapefruit, orange, and tangerine. The ugli fruit is technically a tangelo, but not all tangelos are ugli fruit.

Nutrition experts recommend that adult Americans should eat 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit daily as part of a healthy diet. However, a 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that only 12.3% of adults met this daily requirement. If you want to add more fruit to your daily diet, you may consider trying a unique food: the ugli fruit. 

Despite its name and lumpy appearance, ugli fruit doesn’t taste gross. It’s a delicious citrus fruit that packs a big nutritional punch. The ugli fruit has some similarities with the tangelo, but there are also several differences between the two fruits. Read on to learn about the health benefits of ugli fruit and tangelos. 

The ugli fruit (Citrus reticulate x paradisi) is a large, greenish-yellow fruit. Its rind is bumpy, leathery, and wrinkled, making it look like an unattractive and misshapen orange. The flesh inside the ugli fruit is bright orange and easy to peel. The fruit has few seeds, and it’s juicy and soft when you bite into it.

The ugli fruit is a hybrid fruit that combines three other citrus fruits: grapefruit, orange, and tangerine. It has a pleasant, sweet taste like a tangerine, without the bitterness of its grapefruit ancestor.  

This unique fruit, first discovered in Jamaica in the early 20th century, was called the food “ugly fruit” by the Canadians because of its strange appearance. Later, G. G. R. Sharp, the leading Jamaican exporter of the fruit, patented the name “ugli fruit”. 

The ugli fruit is a versatile food with many uses. Most obviously, you can snack on raw ugli fruit, just like you would eat grapefruit or an orange, peeling the fruit with your hands and eating the sweet flesh inside.

You can also include ugli fruit in many dishes and recipes with citrus fruits. For example, you can: 

• Candy the peel
• Cut the ugli fruit into sections to add to a fruit salad 
• Grate the peel of the ugli fruit to produce zest that will add a tang to sweet desserts like cupcakes and scones
• Juice the ugli fruit and enjoy its sweet liquid
• Use ugli fruit to make sweet marmalade 

The best time to buy citrus fruits like the ugli fruit is October through May. To find a ripe ugli fruit, look for a fruit that meets these criteria:

• Firm and heavy
• No dark spots
• Free of soft or sunken spots
• Smells fragrant and sweet

Adding ugli fruit to your meals or eating it as a snack can help you meet your daily fruit requirement. 

Tangelo is a term used to refer to any hybrid citrus fruit that crosses a tangerine with grapefruit or pomelo. Tangelos have several common characteristics, including: 

• Bigger than tangerines
• Colorful and juicy pulp 
• Grown on large trees in Florida and other warm regions
• Loose peel that you can easily remove by hand 
• Narrower neck at the base

Tangelos come in several varieties. One of these types is the ugli fruit, also known as the Jamaican tangelo. In other words, the ugli fruit is technically a tangelo, but not all tangelos are ugli fruit. 

Other popular varieties of tangelos include: 

• Minneola tangelo. This variety is bright reddish-orange and shaped like a bell. The Minneola is sweet with a hint of tartness and contains few seeds.  
• Orlando tangelo. A mix of a grapefruit and a tangerine. This fruit is round and has a thin orange rind that doesn’t peel easily. 
• Sunburst tangelo. These fruits are dark orange and easy to peel. They have a short window of ripeness from mid-November to late December. 

The ugli fruit is a good choice when you’re looking for a nutritious snack. According to the ugli fruit manufacturer, half an ugli fruit contains:  

• Calories: 45 
• Total fat: 0 g 
• Cholesterol: 0 g 
• Total carbohydrates: 11 g
• Dietary fiber: 8% of the daily value 
• Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 1 g
• Vitamin C: 70% of the daily value 

Ugli fruit is a low-calorie, fat-free snack that will help you feel full without adding too many calories. It provides 8 g of natural sugar. Sugars from fruits are healthier than added sugars found in processed foods like sodas and sweets.  

Many people eat citrus fruits like ugli fruit because they are an excellent source of vitamin C. This essential vitamin has many health benefits. For example, vitamin C can help prevent and treat the common cold. It also helps decrease stress, increases your body’s ability to absorb iron from food, and reduces inflammation. 

This fruit is also a good source of dietary fiber or functional and non-digestible carbohydrates that are part of plants. Eating a diet high in fiber has many health benefits, including: 

• Control weight 
• Decrease your risk of heart disease
• Keep your digestive system functioning smoothly
• Prevent type 2 diabetes
• Reduce feelings of hunger
• Regulate blood sugar levels

Eating a serving of ugli fruit can give you a healthy dose of vitamin C and keep you feeling full and energized. 

Eating nutritious citrus like the ugli fruit can improve your health and help safeguard you from harmful conditions. Some of the many health benefits of citrus fruit include: 

• Antioxidant properties. Citrus peels from ugli fruit and other fruits contain phenolic compounds that work as antioxidants to help fight free radical damage in your cells. 
• Boost your immune system. Citrus fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C, which improves your immune system by stimulating your white blood cells. Research has shown that vitamin C can help you recover from a cold faster. 
• Fight cancer. Citrus fruits contain carotenoids, vitamin compounds that have anticancer properties. 
• Manage diabetes. Citrus fruits contain flavonoids that can reduce glucose uptake and maintain steady blood sugar levels, reducing your risk of developing diabetes. 

Because ugli fruit is a relatively uncommon food, there’s little research on its potential side effects.

You should exercise caution when eating ugli fruit if you have a citrus allergy. A 2003 study found that 10 out of 51 patients who ate ugli fruit reported that they experienced allergy symptoms. However, no recent studies have studied if ugli fruit can cause allergic reactions. 

For people who don’t have a citrus allergy, ugli fruit and other tangelos are healthy and safe foods. If you’re interested in adding new fruits to your diet, don’t let the ugli fruit’s name scare you off. This sweet fruit will help boost your immune system and give your snack routine more variety.