Adding beautiful dragon fruit to your diet can be beneficial but how do you cut dragon fruit? How do you eat dragon fruit?
What is Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit (or pitaya) comes from a cactus of the type Hylocereus. It’s a fast-growing crop, and the plants can produce for more than 20 years once established. It’s grown primarily in Asia, Mexico, Central America, and South America, and historians think it originated in Central America. The American Culinary Federation Education Foundation suggests a different story: “Ancient Chinese legends say that the dragon fruit was created thousands of years ago by a dragon in battle who blew a burst of fire containing the fruit.”
This exotic fruit is a brightly colored fruit with three different variations. Pitaya blanca has pink/red skin, white flesh, and black seeds. Pitaya roja has pink/red skin, red flesh, and black seeds. Pitaya amarilla has yellow skin, white flesh, and black seeds. When I picked up our dragon fruit we found the Pitaya blanca with a beautiful pink skin and white flesh.
Once I found the dragon fruit I was excited to get it home and give it a try. The trick though? I had no idea how to cut and eat the dragon fruit. After doing some research it was very easy to do and similar to cutting an avocado. This was a great lesson for our whole family. This type of exotic fruit is delicious and a great addition to many recipes but can be intimating when you have no idea on how to prepare the exotic fruit.
How To Cut and Eat Dragon Fruit
Like I said, cutting the dragon fruit was very similar to cutting an avocado. To start wash the dragon fruit skin. Using a large sharp knife, cut the dragon fruit in half. Keep in mind that the pink skin is not meant to be eaten. To remove the edible flesh simply scoop out the flesh out with a spoon. A ripe dragon fruit will be easy to cut and peel the flesh from the skin.
Benefits of Dragon Fruit
Because dragon fruit is full of vitamins and nutrients, and offers potentially disease-fighting antioxidants, it probably come as no surprise that eating this fruit on a regular basis can have a positive influence on your health and wellness. Dragon fruit is low in calories and very high in fiber. This is a great addition to any diet.
What Does Dragon Fruit Taste Like?
A Dragon Fruit is a beautiful tropical fruit that is sweet and crunchy. It tastes a bit like a cross between a kiwi and a pear. Not too sweet but not sour either. My kids thought it tasted pretty bland but in a smoothie they loved it. Once you learn to love the taste of dragon fruit, you’ll think of many more ways to enjoy it.
Using Dragon Fruit
So far I have only experienced dragon fruit in a smoothie but there are so many great ways to incorporate this super food into your diet, especially during the summer months!
Smoothies
Smoothie bowls
Salad toppers
Summer salsa
Popsicle
Cocktails
Jam
You can also use Dragon Fruit powder if you do not want to use the whole fruit.
As you can see, Dragon Fruit is pretty versatile and can be used in place of pears and mango but also keep in mind that dragon fruit really complements mango, pineapple and pears. Great way to step up your smoothie game!
What is your favorite way to enjoy Dragon Fruit?
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