I live in Europe, and I've honestly never seen a pitaya aka dragon fruit in any supermarket. Granted, I may have overlooked it, but it's safe to say that it's not a fruit that lies around as one of the basics in the fruit department. Lately, I've become more curious to try things that I haven't tried before and it's working out surprisingly well until now. I didn't like everything, but at least I really tried it. The fruit availability here has been quite sad when you look at quality products. Last week I first ordered from an online store that has made a name during the first wave of the pandemic, until that moment, I never heard of them. They are particularly known for their good service and the fresh food they deliver. I felt confident enough to order this dragon fruit when I saw it on their website. It was expensive, especially for its size (you will see that later in the pictures), but at least I have now tried it.
I didn't want to waste any part of this exotic fruit so I did some online research to find out what the best way would be to cut it and consume it. While searching for answers and ideas, I also found out that this fruit is good for various health issues. It might be one of these fruits that I will order weekly in case we like the taste of it.
I read that dragon fruit is naturally low in cholesterol. The seeds you see inside the fruit apparently have omega 3 fatty acids inside which are great for plant-based diets. This is something I will remember as I'm still considering changing my diet and not sure yet which route to take.
Being called a super-fruit, maybe this is due to the fact that they are packed with antioxidants that are important to keep your heart healthy. Bonus is that it also helps you look younger and makes your skin glow.
Dragon fruit contains magnesium which can lower blood pressure for example. It also contains potassium which for example reduces stress and anxiety. Add to that iron and vitamin C that benefit your health greatly as well.
While I was reading this, I started to feel more excited to try this fruit and was hoping that it would taste good so that I had just found myself a new fruit to add to my diet, even though it's expensive and harder to find.
As the fruit is loaded with fibre as well it contributes to a healthier heart besides the already listed things above.
Again, the fibres help you maintain blood pressure and weight. But the other great thing is that it's packed with probiotics which your gut will thank you for. If you're having issues doing number 2's, eating dragon fruit may help you solve this.
I had to watch a video about this because I really didn't want to waste a bit of the fruit, even though I had no idea if I'd like it yet. It turns out that this is very easy!
Cut the fruit in half:
Repeat:
Now you can very easily peel off the skin leaving the fruit completely intact:
See how good they got peeled? Super easy!
This is the moment I've been waiting for, tasting time! The fruit reminds me of a pale kiwi. I wonder if it tastes anything like it.
See the tiny bowl that is left after cutting the fruit? What a shame, but it kind of felt like tasting something very exclusive.
The verdict: we both agreed it was very very tasty. Much better than a kiwi. The taste is very sweet and I can't compare it with any other fruit, to be honest. I do know that I will be buying them more often, hoping to find them slightly bigger as this was gone in a few minutes and actually too small for the both of us.
Do you eat dragon fruit? I bet if you live in South America, you enjoy these wonderfully big ones or these pink coloured ones that I've seen online. Do the pink ones taste the same? Feel free to leave a comment below.
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