…he would have invented the dragon fruit.
Look at it! It’s fantastic! And when you cut it open:
Even better! And guess what? It’s deeeeeelicious. Slightly crispy like an asian pear, but reminiscent of a kiwi.
Where have you been all my life, dragon fruit?!?!? Certainly not in mainstream US grocery stores.
Many thanks to my hosts at the DARK Cosmology Center in Copenhagen for introducing me to this wonder food.
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Cosmic Variance is a group blog by people who, coincidentally or not, all happen to be physicists and astrophysicists:
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October 23rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
You forgot to mention that this fruit is pink! very important to those of us who parent girls of a certain age…Also, right to the left of this lovely collection of dragon fruit there seems to be a lovely collection of cherimoya, which to my taste is even a better fruit to celebrate. My bet is that you can find both in any fruit market in your local Chinatown. If you are lucky, they will also carry durian.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:54 am
From the Wikipedia article: “In Mauritius, it is known as “Débousse-to-fesse” because of its laxative properties.”
…I think I’ll be staying away from this fruit;).
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I first found it in the KTA store in Waimea while observing at Keck. I remember the meat to be fascinatingly deep purple though, the kind of purple that says “my juice on your clothes is an irreversible process”
Agreed, delicious!
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Yeah, exactly. Next time you’re in Hawaii, go to a farmer’s market or Asian grocery (and some others). Dragon fruit is all over and very yummy.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
And what are these yellow fruit right to the right? We don’t have these in my country.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Random Reader: I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not (this being text and all), but I’ll answer as if you were serious.
Those are bananas. They’re ubiquitous in North and Central American markets. Maybe elsewhere as well, but I’ve never been anywhere else, so I can’t comment on that.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
I’m not actually all that fond of kiwis. Feel free to gasp now. Then sit down before I tell you that I think bananas are revolting fruits of the Devil.
Awww. You’ve been in Copenhagen? Why didn’t you say sooner?
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I’m not sure I’ve seen them in grocery stores, but I’ve definitely had them at a few restaurants (in California). My introduction to them, or at least a flavor approximating them, was through 7-11, which had a dragon fruit Slurpee once upon a time.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
OMFG, I looooooooove dragonfruit! And I’ve never seen one in a US grocery store either. The only time I ever had one was in a covered market in Spain…
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Mentos (I think) make dragon fruit flavour chewing gum. It has a strange perfumed flavour.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:46 am
I lived in Singapore for a year and a half, and had many a dragon fruit… I love them, when they’re at the correct ripeness, but they have the strange quality that if you get them at the wrong time, they taste like… nothing. I don’t know how else to describe it, but they seem to lose ALL their flavor at some point. I never figured out how to pick one properly.
October 24th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Dragon fruit suddenly appeared in my local supermarket (Yorkshire, UK) about a year ago. They are indeed very nice (I bet you can make a very nice sorbet from them), but at £2.99 a piece they are slightly pricey.
October 24th, 2009 at 4:26 am
I’ve had dragon fruit in Vietnam, a couple of years ago.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Trader Joes (the ones in LA at any rate) would sometimes stock dried dragon fruit slices. Very tasty.
October 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I remember the first time I saw a dragonfruit in chinatown, honolulu. It helps to live nearby, and on Saturdays and Sundays, the sidewalks are filled with various produce, some exotic, some typically Asian, and for the most part, the familiar, but cheaper stuff. In any case, I tried it, and yes, it was fantastic. It’s a taste that’s hard to place, but it’s like a mix of kiwi, lychee, and a hint of citrus. In fact, there’s a very talented bartender who made me a dragonfruit mojito, and there is absolutely nothing better. Sure, it’s a bit pink looking (should it be called a mojita?), but any laughs are soon abruptly turned to awe when it’s sampled.
October 24th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I eat those all the time (im chinese).
They’re absolutly delicous.
They are rather expensive though :S
In Canada here, they are in many large produce stores and all the oriental stores.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:28 am
In Costa Rica the fruits is known as Pitahaya. It is in fact delicious but also rare and not very commercial. Inside the ruit is slighlty pink. Thanks for this post.
October 25th, 2009 at 9:02 am
For those of you who live near a Trader Joe’s grocery store, you can find dried dragon fruit slices. I picked one up thinking it was a deep purple potato chip. Imagine my surprise! But when I got over the initial shock, I was delighted at to the discovery of this fruit. I’ve never had a fresh one, but I can only assume it must be like manna from the gods.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Oh man, those (on left) aren’t cherimoya — they’re atemoya, which is some kind of hybrid that is even better! Is this in Hawaii? ’cause that’s the only place I’ve ever seen atemoya…
I have to admit I’ve never had a dragonfruit at its peak of ripeness, and thus associate them with flavorless crunch. Should fix that. Not bloody likely, though, up here in the Frozen North.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
*gasp* oh, sweet, juicy huo long guo. tiny seeds crunching between my teeth, juice running down my hands and face… *drools*
I wanna go back to China!!
October 26th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
[...] I’ve been drinking it October 26, 2009 — Richard If Dr. Seuss Designed Produce… [...]
October 26th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Dragon Fruits are all over the place in Québec groceries. And I find they taste like crispy vanilla ice cream. But as already said, they’re very expensive.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I think i’ve seen them occasionally at the gigantic QFC in the u village by the UW. They sometimes stock odd fruit there at a very small table.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
HI Clifford:
You do find them occasionally in supermarkets in the US. I have also seen Rambutan and Lychees when they are on season. There is a similar fruit in south america called Pitahaya. It has yellow skin on the outside, instead of red. In my opinion those are much sweeter. I still nejoy the dragon fruits occasionally.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Like in Costa Rica, this fruit is known as Pithaya in Nicaragua – but in Nicaragua it’s a lot more common, even ubiquitous. Most sodas serve pithaya juice. It’s easy to make – just peel the fruit, toss it in a blender with some water, lime juice, and sugar, and blend till smooth. You can strain the seeds and pulp out if you want, but personally I like them. To make it super-delicious, add some rum and enjoy as a cocktail. Yummm! I drank it all the time when I lived there, and get super-excited whenever I can find it at a local Asian grocery. I’ve never seen a pithaya with a white center like that, though – it’s usually pink.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
The fruit on the left looks like a Sugar-apple, which crossed with a cherimoya will produce the atemoya. Both are delicious!
October 28th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I have never seen these, but will look, sounds good!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:47 am
I will definitely look for some of these. By the way, have you seen fractal broccoli? Google
fractal food. It’s my kids’ favorite.