Is This Dragon Fruit for Real? ...
Ok then, I know you won’t believe me, but I bought a dragon in Tesco’s last week … or should I say a Dragon Fruit. A bit on the expensive side (£1.79) this astonishing looking fruit measured about 5” and as I’ve never seen or tasted one before I was tempted … but before I risked a taste, I did a bit of research to see what I’d got myself into. Here’s what I found …
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What’s In A Name … For such an unusual looking fruit being called a ‘Dragon fruit’ seems fairly acceptable. Also known as the ‘strawberry pear’, ‘pitaya’ or ‘pitahaya’ it’s the fruit of several species of cactus … and once you know this it’s easy to imagine … if you think about it lots of cactus have bright coloured flowers so why not such bright coloured fruit … |
It’s Hard To Describe …
The Dragon fruit I bought is fairly round in shape, very bright pink in colour and with very prominent ‘scales’ around it. However, you’ll find other varieties which have yellow skin … it just depends on the variety.
When you cut through the flesh – it feels like cutting into the skin of a melon – you find the stark contrast of the flesh inside. In my case I was faced with an opaque white inner with dark seeds throughout … similar to the seeds found inside a kiwi fruit. Or you could encounter a red flesh inside with the same black seeds depending on the variety.
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A Few Varieties … There are three different varieties of a dragon fruit: Hylocereus undatus – this has a pink skin and a white flesh … so that’s what I bought. A climbing cactus, it has a red skin, triangular shaped stem, and minimal number of spines. |
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Hylocereur polyrhizus – again a pink skin but this time when you cut into it, you’d reveal a red flesh. Similar in nature to the hylocereus undatus, this variety of cactus has more spines.
Selenicereus megalanthus – in contrast this variety has a yellow skin and white flesh. The fruit is smaller than the other two varieties (which can weigh up to 1kg) and contains higher levels of sugar.
How To Eat A Dragon …
Or should I say Dragon Fruit.
Faced with such a strange looking fruit it was a bit intimidating to think how to eat it … did you bite into it like an apple … eat the centre like a pomegranate … was it best raw or cooked?
In fact, you don’t eat the skin of the fruit, just the flesh from inside. I scooped out the flesh with a spoon (it scoops straight out just like scooping out sorbet) and it tasted a bit like a melon or kiwi … actually the taste is very bland considering how exciting it looks!
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If you’re thinking of eating dragon fruit, it’s best eaten chilled and if you don’t want to eat it on its own have it as a desert with a scoop of sorbet. Other recommended ways of eating dragon fruit are with ice cream or turn it into a drink by putting the flesh through a juicer or it can be fermented into wine.
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The Benefits Of Eating Dragon Fruit …
Rich in fibre, vitamin C and minerals the dragon fruit is also low in calories … so an all-round good fruit to eat! This fruit is also rich in phytoalbumins which have antioxidant properties.
Growing Dragon Fruit …
The Cactus which dragon fruit comes from can grow anywhere between a few inches up to 20’ long (that’s for the more mature plants …). Growing best in tropical, sub-tropical or dry climates where there’s about 20-25” rain fall per year these plants can cope with extremes of temperatures - from as high as 104 degrees fahrenheit to short periods of frost. Although they don’t like being too wet (this will affect cropping) or long periods of cold weather (which can kill the plants).
These plants survive by growing on trees – they grow out of the soil and over it until they find a tree, they can grow on using their aerial roots. They’re not particularly fussy about what type of soil they grow in although grow best when the soil is kept in nutrients by adding in organic matter.
What’s quite unusual is that the ornate flowers that the plants produce only appear during the night and last only one night … so pollination must take place at that point to get a crop of dragon fruit. However, to counter this plant can produce 4-6 crops of fruit per year.
Propagate Your Own Cactus … And Maybe A Dragon
Ok … so I’ve been less distressed over the cost of the fruit since I read how easy it is to grow your own cactus from the seeds found within the fruit.
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By simply scooping out some of the flesh and separating out the seeds you’re ready to start planting. Just sow in economy pots containing gritty potting compost, water and then enclose whole within a polythene bag. It’s as easy as that! |
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You’ve then just got to be patient for about two weeks before you’ll see the seedlings start to appear. As I’ve never grown cactus, I don’t know if this is common or not, but the seedlings have two leaves on them … in fact these are the only leaves this plant will ever produce. From this point onwards a spiny stem will begin to grow between the centre of the leaves … with the leaves being discarded after a few months. In theory, you should then be able to grow your own dragon fruit … although let’s hope that they don’t grow to 20’ high!! |
Where You’ll Find Dragon Fruit …
Although grown in tropical climates, it’s unclear where these plants originate although they are native to Mexico, and Southern America. Now being cultivated in Southeast Asia the dragon fruit is now the leading fruit export of Vietnam.
And Finally, A Legend …
Well, it had to have really … this exotic looking fruit is crying out to having a legend so here goes …
Thousands of years ago fire breathing dragons created the dragon fruit. During battle, when the dragons breathed fire the last thing to come out would be the fruit. If the dragon was slain the fruit would be collected and presented to the emperor as an indication of victory and as such was a prized treasure.
Whilst the slain dragon would have been eaten by the victorious soldiers … it being believed that if you ate the flesh of the dragon, you became empowered with the dragon’s strength and ferocity.
In fact, it is said that the meat from the base of the dragon’s tail from where it was believed the dragons fire originated, was the sweetest and the best tasting. It is said that the thirst for this meat is what brought about the destruction of all dragons … or so legend goes …