In my recent article An Afternoon with Good Food in the Park I mentioned that our friend Becky, my son Anthony and I had Dragon Fruit for dessert.
It is such an interesting fruit I thought it deserved an article of it's own.
The dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus), also known as pitaya or pitahaya is mistakenly thought to have originated in South East Asia. I imagine because of its exotic looks and the bright cerise red and green scaly surface of the variety most commonly seen which probably made some people associate it with Chinese dragons.
Actually native to Central America and the northern part of South America, it can now be found growing in tropical regions around the world.
The plant is a terrestrial vining cactus and closely related to the midnight blooming cereus to which it resembles in both the green fleshy stems and blooms. It can be propagated by both cuttings and seeds.
Even though I had seen it at our Hilo Farmer's Market from time to time, I had never bought one as I wasn't sure what to do with it. My son bought two last Saturday ( not cheap....he paid $7 for both!!!) and we decided to just chill them, cut and eat them by scooping out the flesh.
The vendor kept telling Anthony that it tasted like a kiwi. None of us thought it did. It is a very difficult taste to describe since it isn't like anything any of us had ever experienced previously and we can modestly say we have experienced a wide range of unusual and exotic fruit in our collective lives.
The fruit itself has a sort of light and juicy watermelon texture with a delicate fragrance all of it's own, hard to compare with any other fruit we've experienced in the past. We found it very refreshing, especially when eaten chilled. The taste hinted at an elusive and delicate strawberry flavor...even though that is not correct either... It is filled with edible tiny crunchy seeds that resemble the seeds of the poppy!
Although we simply served it by cutting in half and scooping each bite with a dessert spoon, it can also be sliced in rounds or served in wedges.
I will be experimenting with this fruit in the near future by making a sorbet to serve as a palate cleanser after a spicy or heavy meal and might even play with adding lemon balm or Hawaii grown vanilla to the mixture.
If you see it in your markets, don't hesitate to try it.
Even though we have grown both day and night blooming cereus in the past, we have never grown the Hylocereus undatus which produces this wonderful fruit and am putting it out on the local 'coconut wireless' that we are actively searching for cuttings of the plant.
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Sonia Martinez, Gather Food Correspondent | ||||
Sonia's column, 'Tropical Taste' is a regular twice-monthly feature of Gather Essentials: Food. Sonia is a cookbook author and freelance food writer for several publications in Hawaii, and is also a Hawaii Island Journal restaurant reviewer in partnership with her son Anthony Mathis. She lives in a beautiful rural rainforest area on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can keep up with Sonia's adventures and ongoing love affair with Hawaii by joining her network, or visiting her food & garden blog at Sonia Tastes Hawaii. | ||||
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Comments: 58
Thank you for reading and commenting, Jodi!
This was another beautifully well-written article full of adventure and lovely presentations. What a brilliant idea, too, to "serve it as a palate cleanser after a spicy or heavy meal"!!
I can see by its appearance why it would be difficult to pin point its taste. Thank you for the introduction to this type of fruit!
Debbie, who knows.........? with the expanding taste for more exotic foods from all over you just might find it in Arkansas!
Thank you, Jay....we thought it was!
Barbra, Thank you so much for your lovely comments. You might find some in Miami since there is a nursery that carries them there in the Redlands area....
Pine Island Nurseries Tropical Fruit Growers - http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/dragon/index.htm
Sonia, thanks again for introducing me to your tropical wonders.
"Yes.... but what parts do you eat? Do I need to cook the whole thing first? Chill it? Peel it?"
I get a smile and the same answer "Good... eat!"
There's never an English-speaking Asian behind the counter when you need one. And at the prices the darn fruit command, I did not want to " good eat" it the wrong way.
I would imagine you could slice them very thin with a very sharp knife....Not sure how they would hold in a dish, though.
Duckie, first let me say your icon is not showing, dear....
I can't believe you didn't eat these at home!!! Try them next time you see them and experiment and play with them to see what you can come up with.
Donna, you're right. listening to "Good...eat" has served me a few times....except with durian....Yuck!
What beautiful pictures. Thanks so much.
I never came across the dragon fruit at home. They might be able to grow them in the southern islands but up north where I lived, I never had the chance to try them. Now that I know what parts to eat, I'll be sure to buy some next time I see some at the Asian grocers! I'd like to try the yellow varieties, too. They are suppose to be sweeter than the pink and red varieties.
Why in the world would anyone flag your rubber duckie icon....??? Good Grief!!!
I have heard that the yellow ones are sweeter too, but I haven't seen the yellow here. The crise and reds are the only ones so far.
Hope you find them!
A friend just sent me this link.......said you can get seeds there of 5 different varieties, including yellow. I'm not good with seeds!
TRADEWINDS FRUITS
Susan, It was worth that to try it. I am now trying to locate plants for the yard!
I was introduced to this fruit in Thailand. It is wonderfully sweet and delicious. Through the language barrier, I was told dragon fruit were small melons. Thanks for the information about their origin and that they are a succulent. When I was served them, the outer covering (rind/peel?) had been pared away. Sometimes the dragon fruit was in ¼ inch slices and other times in wedges. Cut both ways, there was a bright scarlet border around the white and black specked center. The flesh of the dragon fruit was firm, sort in between a crisp honeydew and watermelon. Because the the seeds are so tiny, like poppy seeds, the slices hold together better than watermelon. You eat everything but the outer covering.
I really liked the dragon fruit, but have only found it in the Asian markets in Seattle and it was a bit spendy. I know some folks that cucumber and tomato seeds irritate their colon, so if your bowels are sensitive you might want to pass.
Debbie, I do appreciate your comment about my articles very much! You made my day!!!
hey_Le, I found a recipe for a liliko'i marinade for an 'ahi salad and the salad also called for dragon fruit....I bet a dressing of both together would be delicious!
Richard, I too love beautiful plants that will nourish the body as well as the soul.....Dragon fruit fits the bill for both. I am actively seeking for cuttings and think I might have found some!
Mr. Bill, I was sure you would have encountered this fruit on your trips....! We didn't peel ours....to me one of the attractions was the beautiful petals (or scales) in the contrasting color... I was thinking to use the empy 'shell' to refill with the sorbet and serve from it.
Yes, anyone whose colon is sensitive to any seeds should beware.
Mr. Bill, these too were about the size of a medium grapefruit....
David, there are several varieties and as with all fruit, I guess the sweetness depends on the ripeness. It is hard to tell when these are ripe....for me, at least.
Natalie, nowadays markets are a bit more experimental about the produce they carry. You might be surprised to find them in Idaho!
Hi, Aaron....thank you! So glad you felt you could almost taste it! Wish I could be a bit more accurate on the description, but it is unlike anything else I have ever tasted.
LOL
This site shows the most varieties I've seen, but still no green ones.....
Pne Island Nurseries
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!