Quezi

Pitahaya or Dragon Fruit (photo by Roger Browne - CC-BY)

The dragonfruit, or pitahaya, is a most unusual-looking fruit. On the outside it’s bright pink with red and green flame-like growths. But cut it open and the appearance is totally unexpected: white flesh with black dots, looking as if someone has sprinked poppy seeds over some snow.

The black dots are of course the seeds of the fruit, and the texture (though not the color) is similar to kiwi fruit. The thick skin is evocative of prickly pear which is not surprising because the dragon fruit is also a cactus, of species Hylocereus.

The first taste is exotic, and the next few mouthfuls are delicious. After that though, the taste becomes a bit plain and it’s quite hard to eat a whole pitahaya at one sitting. It’s a very odd fruit to eat. But there’s a way to really enjoy it.

Chill the pitahaya, peel it and slice it thinly (5mm or 1/4 inch thick). Serve these slices interleaved with vanilla ice cream. The fruit moderates the sweetness of the ice cream, making it more refreshing, and the ice cream stops the taste of the pitahaya developing its blandness.

Another way to eat pitahaya is to chill it and dice it, then mix the cubed fruit with Rice Krispies (or Rice Pops, Rice Bubbles etc) and add a little evaporated milk.

Alternatively, eat the pitahaya with lemon juice or lime juice.

You can also find varieties with a yellow skin or with red flesh. Pitahaya keeps well, for a couple of weeks in a cool place. The energy content is around 200 kiloJoules (50 Calories) per 100 grams. Pitahaya contains useful amounts of Vitamin B3, Vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus, and a small amount of iron.