Still rather unknown in this country, the dragon fruit – pitahaya or pitaya, as it is actually called – belongs to the cactus family. Since the fruit skin consists of scale-like lobes and thus reminds of the scales of a dragon, it is colloquially known as dragon fruit. Precisely because of this special appearance, the sweet to sour tasting, egg-shaped fruit, like the star fruit or the physalis, is often used for purely decorative purposes. Which in turn is a great pity, because it contains, among other things, many valuable vitamins and minerals and can therefore be described as extremely healthy. In addition, the jelly-like tropical fruit not only goes wonderfully with other exotic fruits or spices up recipes for smoothies or fruit salads, but can also be served with ham instead of melon, for example.
Dragon fruit: What does it look like and what’s in it?
The fruit, which ripens on a climbing cactus plant, can weigh up to 500 grams and is then about twice the size of a kiwi or even larger. Pitahayas are divided into three varieties. Either is the fleshy-scaly skin:
- Pink and the flesh is white inside (Hylocereus undatus),
- Pink with red flesh (Hylocereus monacanthus) or
- Yellow with white flesh (Selenicereus megalanthus).
Like the papaya, the dragon fruit also originated in Central America. The fruit mostly exported to Europe from Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, is therefore not a native fruit in Germany.
Healthy ingredients
The pink-fleshed fruit owes its appearance to its naturally high content of beta-carotene and betalain pigments. These substances, in turn, can be converted into vitamin A in the body, helping it to regulate cell growth, for example. Vitamin A – also called the eye vitamin – also ensures a healthy visual organ and strengthens vision. In addition, the dragon fruit contains particularly much:
- Vitamin B, C and E
- Iron
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
While calcium and phosphorus have a positive impact on connective tissue and skin, as well as healthy bones and teeth, iron is responsible for blood formation in the body.
5 special properties of dragon fruit
All these beneficial effects dragon fruit has in common with many fruits. However, what makes it different from the others and thus special are the following five characteristics:
- It contains particularly high levels of vitamin C, which naturally strengthens the immune system.
- It can help regulate blood sugar levels due to swelling fiber.
- Dragon fruit has a positive effect on cholesterol levels and can therefore help prevent heart disease.
- It contains lycopene, an antioxidant that can eliminate certain cancer cells.
- In addition, the high water content and protein-splitting enzymes contained in the pulp and tiny black seeds of the fruit stimulate digestion.
Caution: if you have a sensitive intestine, it is advisable to consume in moderation, as the fruit can have a laxative effect.
Calories and nutritional information of the dragon fruit.
Dragon fruit is 90 percent water. Therefore, its calorie content, similar to an apple, is around 50 kilocalories per 100 grams, or about 210 kilojoules. Consequently, the exotic fruit can rightly call itself an extremely figure-friendly fruit. Other nutritional values per 100 grams of a dragon fruit:
- Fat: 0.4 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
- Carbohydrates: 7.1 grams (of which sugar: 6.9 grams)
- Dietary fiber: 0.5 grams
Buy dragon fruit
Such exotic fruits are carried mainly by well-stocked supermarkets and markets focused on delicatessen. Dragon fruit prices can vary widely. This is not only seasonal or dealer-related, but has to do with the quality and size as well as the origin. For example, goods from Sri Lanka are more expensive than those from Thailand, Vietnam or Central America. When buying a dragon fruit, for the best taste experience, attention should be paid primarily to quality and secondarily to cost.
Practical tips on purchasing and storing pitahayas.
Dragon fruit is highly sensitive to pressure and should therefore only be available individually packaged.For yellow varieties, the main thing to make sure that the skin is completely colored through. In the case of pink fruits, that they give only slightly when pressed against and are not too soft. Since dragon fruits dry out easily and then become shriveled, they are best stored at room temperature. They will then keep for four to five days. Stored in a cool place, they also stay fresh for about twelve days. However, care should be taken to protect them from bruising, otherwise they will spoil much faster. Here’s a tip: either stand the fruit upright or – even better – hang it up. To preserve the beautiful colors and handsome scales, it is recommended to spray the fruit with water a few times a day.
How to eat a dragon fruit?
The dragon fruit is best eaten raw. If it is also cooled, it has a very invigorating effect. The flesh of the best known type is gray-white and similar to a kiwi, interspersed with countless black seeds. But the mere description of their appearance does not explain how to peel, cut and enjoy them. Namely, by:
- Cutting the fruit in half and spooning it out,
- The ends are cut off and the peel is pulled off.
Then you can cut the flesh into cubes, wedges or slices as you like. But beware: the skin of the dragon fruit is absolutely inedible.
How does the dragon fruit taste?
While the pink pitahaya with white flesh tastes rather neutral but sour and therefore extremely refreshing, the yellow-skinned dragon fruit is the most aromatic. Its aroma is a bit like a mixture of strawberry, pineapple and mango. However, the fruit with a pink skin and red interior tastes most intense. Although the three types differ in color and flavor, the consistency remains the same: the dragon fruit is always jelly-like. In this, it most closely resembles a gooseberry or kiwi.
Pitahaya: identify and process ripe and unripe fruit.
The flavor and sweetness of a dragon fruit develop as it ripens. Therefore, the only thing you can taste from an unripe fruit – regardless of which one it is – is its high water content. Such a fruit can be recognized by its still green-colored skin. Although the flesh is not yet sweet, it can already be used in the kitchen. Then, however, as a “vegetable”. Cooked, the dragon fruit resembles a potato in taste and fits wonderfully in combination with other vegetables in a colorful pan dish.
Dragon fruit: When is it ripe?
A good degree of ripeness can be determined not only by its appearance – a bright pink or yellow fruit skin – but also by the sensitivity of the respective dragon fruit to pressure. If the skin yields slightly when pressed, the fruit is ripe. Since ripe fruits lose their aroma when exposed to heat, they are best enjoyed raw or made into cold starters or desserts. In any form, the watery flesh of dragon fruit does well in juices, milkshakes or smoothies. Whether pure in a rum punch or as a non-alcoholic cocktail in combination with other exotics: The fruit is versatile in any case.
Tips for the preparation of pitahayas.
Want your next garden party to be the talk of the town for even longer? Then why not try an exotic fruit buffet. The dragon fruit will be a real eye-catcher just like the physalis located in its papery calyx. The pitahaya gets along just as well with other tropical fruits and, together with pomegranates for example, peps up any conventional fruit salad. In addition to fruit salads, cakes or ice cream, the fruit can be processed into jam in a similar way to passion fruit, which belongs to the passion fruit family. A tip for this: the generally very sweet persimmon jam could be mixed with the flesh of the dragon fruit and neutralized in this way. In addition, dragon fruit goes well in salads and can be served with cheese, ham or fish.