Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Red dragon fruit

The fruit is call red dragon fruit or red pitaya because the skin looks like the scales of a dragon.

Dragon fruit has distinctive red orange leaves that look like flames. It is a great healthy fruit to eat, not to mention its nutritional benefits are numerous. Dragon fruits are rich in fiber and minerals, notably phosphorus and calcium.

The dragon fruit, also known as a strawberry pear is actually the fruit of a cactus. It originated in South America, but is now cultivated widely across both Americas, Australia and is Vietnam's biggest export. Its presence in Malaysia is a rather recent event. However now this unique fruit is popularly grown throughout the country.

I was actually frightened to eat the maroon type when I first saw it. But I love it now. Really sweet and juicy. I remembered vividly the first time I saw this a couple years back, I was utterly confused at how I was supposed to attack this odd animal of a fruit. I have never tasted one before so didn't have a clue what to expect. Peeling it was impossible, as the skin was spongy and extremely thick. Biting straight into it definitely wasn't an option.

Ultimately, I took a knife and cut the fruit into half. The skin just peeled easily from the side.
You can scoop it with a spoon or cut the fruit into small bite pieces. The numerous small, black seeds are edible and crunchy, so don't bother spitting it out. It’s a lot sweeter than a kiwi though.

this is what it looks like when you cut it in half

It's a great way to combat constipation too. I eat dragon fruits very often here. They are quite costly though.

It is delicious, you should try one, its full of natural-goodness. I like the crunchiness when I bit on the sesame-like black coloured seeds.


the juicy pulp is maroon with countless small edible seeds



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

yummy...i love dragon fruit....

Lin said...

yeah, it's one of my favourite fruits.