Benefits of Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit is among the most nutritious and wonderful exotic fruits. It is a favorite to many, particularly people of Asian origin. It features a mouth watering light sweet taste, an intense shape and color, not forgetting its outstanding flowers. In addition to being tasty and refreshing, this beautiful fruit boasts of a lot of water and other vital minerals with varied nutritional ingredients. Due to its vital nutrients, the Pitaya fruit is suitable for all diets as it supplements fiber which is best for laxative and the liver. Similarly, people who have high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity have attested to the fruit’s goodness. Recent findings show that if an obese person eats a Pitahaya fruit on a regular basis, it naturally reduces the weight considerably, creating a well balanced body without compromising on the individual’s health.
Dragon fruit is a beautiful fruit grown in Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central and South America, and Israel. The plant is actually a type of cactus, and the fruit comes in 3 colors: 2 have pink skin, but with different colored flesh (one white, the other red), while another type is yellow with white flesh. Dragon fruit is low in calories and offers numerous nutrients, including Vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, plus fiber and antioxidants.
Dragon fruit tastes wonderful! - sweet and crunchy, with a flavor that's like a cross between kiwi and pear.
Step #1 - To choose a ripe dragon fruit: look for bright, even-colored skin. If the fruit has a lot of blotches, it may be over-ripe (a few is normal). Another sign of over-ripe dragon fruit is a very dry, brittle brown stem, or brown on the tips of the "leaves". Hold the dragon fruit in your palm and try pressing the skin with your thumb or fingers - it should give a little (like a ripe kiwi), but shouldn't be too soft or mushy. If it's very firm, it will need to ripen for a few days.
Placing the dragon fruit over a cutting board or other clean surface, cut the fruit straight down the middle with a sharp knife. It will cut quite easily.
Cut through to the other side, so that you can separate the fruit into 2 sections. Inside the flesh may be white or red - both will have tiny black edible seeds, just like kiwi fruit.
There are various ways to prepare dragon fruit for eating - this is just one way. Run a tablespoon around the circumference of the first section to separate the flesh from the skin.
Now lift the flesh out of the skin and place it on the cutting board. Reserve the skin for serving (as in step 8), if desired. Note that the skin is NOT edible. Do the same for the other half.
Turn the mound of flesh over, checking for any residual pink skin. Slice this off, as the skin isn't healthy to ingest.
Now you can slice up the flesh. Cubes work well for eating the fruit fresh.
If desired, return the cubes of fruit to the skin to serve, or transfer to a serving dish and enjoy! Note that leftovers can be refrigerated, like any other fruit, in a covered container. Personally, I love combining cubes of dragon fruit into a fresh fruit salad. See my dragon fruit recipes below. ENJOY!

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