How to cut dragon fruit? Dragon fruit also called strawberry pear or pitaya is an oval brightly colored, sweet-tasting fruit with black seeds and white or red flesh.
The fruit is high in vitamin C, iron, and other antioxidants, which are good for your immune system and can boost your iron levels.
Iron is very important because it helps in moving oxygen through your body and giving you energy
Dragon fruit has iron while vitamin C helps your body take in and use the iron.
So, here are the best ways to cut dragon fruits
Dragon fruit might sound exotic, but it is very simple to cut and eat. You can cut your fruit in 2 methods.
Slicing the Dragon Fruit in Half
i. To cut the dragon fruit in half, place it on a cutting board and get a sharp knife.
Cut the fruit lengthwise ensuring that you leave the skin intact.
With just a single cut down from the stem, the fruit would be separated into 2 halves to reveal the edible white part inside.
ii. Get a spoon and use it to separate the fruit from the skin.
Slide the spoon between the pink skin and the white fruit then lift the spoon to remove the fruit.
This shouldn’t require a lot of effort, because the edible part comes away from the skin very easily.
iii. Place the edible part that has been removed on a cutting board and chop it into cubes.
The black seeds in the fruit are also edible so no need of removing them.
All you have to do is to roughly chop the fruit into a manageable size and eat the fruit raw, with added flavor, or incorporated it into a smoothie or fruit salad.
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METHOD TWO:
Quartering the Dragon Fruit
i. Peel the skin off the dragon fruit and locate the woody stem which is the top part of the fruit.
The skin pieces should open around the top part,
So to peel the skin, grab the pieces at the opening and peel them off just the same way you would with a banana, leaving only the edible part.
Ii. Place on a chopping board and quarter the fruit.
With a sharp knife, cut the fruit in half vertically, turn the halves and cut horizontally across each one to separate the dragon fruit into 4 pieces.
You can also take this step before peeling off the skin.
iii. Taking each section of the fruit, chop it into bite-sized pieces and reduce it further as it is best to chop them into small cubes which are easy to eat.
How Do You Know If A Dragon Fruit Is Ripe?
Steps for checking if a dragon fruit is ripe
i. The most noticeable sign of ripe dragon fruit is the bright pink skin.
So to tell if it’s ripened or not, check for bright pink skin with green ends on the fruit.
You shouldn’t see many dark black spots, however, a couple of blemishes are still okay,
But avoid any that are fully covered with them.
If you think the dark spots are too much and you’re uncertain about it, touch the fruit to feel its consistency.
Note that some varieties of dragon fruit have bright yellow skin instead of pink and some have pink fruit instead of white.
If the dragon fruit is green-skinned then it isn’t ripe, so don’t cut it.
ii. Poke the fruit to check its ripeness. The stem of a ripe dragon fruit bends without breaking when you touch it.
Your dragon fruit should feel a little spongy like a kiwi when you poke.
If it feels mushy instead of spongy then it isn’t ripe.
Hard or solid dragon fruit hasn’t ripened yet.
What Does Dragon Fruit Taste Like?
Ripe dragon fruit has a soft texture similar to a ripe kiwi and a mildly sweet flavor often described as a blend of kiwi and pear
while an under-ripe dragon fruit is basically flavorless.
What Part Of Dragon Fruit Is Edible?
The white or pink flesh with black dots is the edible part.
To access this part, remove the outer peel and discard any remaining pink portions of the fruit.
The pink skin is also edible but tends to taste very bitter
This is why we eat the flesh including the small black seeds which contain fiber which can be a bonus to the health benefits of eating dragon fruit.
How Do You Clean A Dragon Fruit?
Add salt to a bowl of water then use a paper towel to wipe out the dirt from the dragon fruit.
The use of salt water is to kill germs stuck on the weird part of the dragon fruit. As you can see the dragon fruit has a kind of weird shape.
How To Eat Dragon Fruit
The interesting fact about dragon fruit is that it is versatile.
Some people prefer to eat it like an avocado by cutting the fruit into sections or scooping it out and eating it by itself while you discard the skin.
This is Because the fruit has a somewhat weak flavor, a lot of people prefer to use it as an ingredient in a more flavorful and larger dish.
For example, you can consider adding dragon fruit chunks to your favorite smoothie recipe.
It is also great when cubed and tossed into a fresh fruit salad, added to an acai bowl, or mixed into your morning yogurt.
Looking for something more substantial? You can cut the Dragon fruit into cubes and saute or grill it to make a delicious kebab.
How To Store Cut Dragon Fruits
You can store cut dragon fruit in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
That is if it has been kept in a sealed container or bag first before putting it in the fridge.
Once you cut the Dragon fruit, make sure you immediately put it in a plastic bag and store it in your fridge.
This will help slow the ripening process and the plastic bag or container will prevent it from absorbing odors and flavors from other foods.
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How Long Does Dragon Fruit Last In The Fridge?
You can store dragon fruit in the fridge just the same way you can with other fruits.
If properly stored it will last up to 2 weeks before Browning or going bad.
To properly store your dragon fruit, Ensure to remove the flesh and put it in a sealed bag while removing as much air as you can from the bag.
Can You Freeze Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit freezes reasonably well, but its taste and texture will be altered slightly.
Some people notice that once the dragon fruit is thawed it also softens and won’t be quite as sweet as it is when it’s fresh.
So, if you want your fruit to keep its firm texture and fresh taste, then you shouldn’t consider freezing it.
If frozen, it is best to use the frozen dragon fruit in smoothies and other puréed foods without waiting for it defrosts.
5 Best Alternatives For Dragon Fruit
Dragon fruit as you can imagine can be expensive and hard to come across even though in recent years they have become more popular
But they are still considered quite exotic.
Dragon fruits are native to Mexico and Ecuador,
But you can also find them growing in the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
You can eat these lovely fruits right off the trees if you live in any of these places or plan on visiting them soon.
Otherwise, you can look around Asian and Central American supermarkets to have a taste of the fruit.
If you still can’t find them, you can alternatively use any of the fruits similar to dragon fruit.
Although these alternatives may not look the same, they will offer similar textures and flavors.
Fruits you can substitute with dragon fruit are kiwi, pear, watermelon, strawberry, and rambutan.
How To Tell If Dragon Fruit Is Bad
When dragon fruit starts rotting, its skin appearance will change and will be loose and wrinkled.
Its physical color will also change from pink to purple, the leaves can turn dark green, and the inner color will turn brown
Showing that the fruit has been exposed to sunlight or warmer temperatures.
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Conclusion
Dragon fruit is an eye-catching food that comes in different varieties such as pink skin with white or pink flesh or yellow skin with white flesh.
It is a fruit you can feel good about enjoying because it is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, potassium, and prebiotics.
The dragon fruit can be enjoyed alone or used in a number of recipes and dishes.