Flavor of the Week: Ruby red grapefruit adds tart taste to salads, cocktailsFlavor of the Week: Ruby red grapefruit adds tart taste to salads, cocktails

Grapefruit has long been a staple ingredient on menus, but chefs and operators are beginning to call out varieties of these bitter citruses and targeting flavor profiles that lend a premium flair.

It's said the redder the flesh, the sweeter the flavor, but ruby red grapefruit still gives plenty of tartness and bitterness to a dish or beverage. Ruby red grapefruit's resurgence has been supported by chef-driven exploration across menus in salads and cocktails, and to brightening lighter proteins like fish and chicken.

The ruby red grapefruit is found on only 2% of menus in American restaurants but it is well within the mainstream of fast-casual restaurants, quick-service chains and others, and more than 80% of consumers know about it, according to marketing research firm Datassential.

Learn more about Datassential's Flavor of the Week by clicking through the slides, and see one way it's used as an ingredient in a cocktai.