Dragon fruit dried natural

Also known as pitaya and pitahaya, the dragon fruit is the fruit of a climbing cactus. Due to its colorful appearance - a pink shell covered with bright green scales - it is often used to decorate buffets.

Origin, characteristics and taste

This exotic fruit originally comes from southern Mexico. Today it is mainly grown in South America and Asia, with these dried fruit slices coming from dragon fruit native to South America. The pitahaya is the fruit of the forest cactus. Together with a few other plants, this develops the largest flowers in the world. The flowers grow up to 30 cm long, blooming for only one night and emitting an aromatic and jasmine-like scent. The fruits then grow from the flowers, which are up to 15 cm long and have white or red flesh. The pink skin of the fruit is inedible, so only the flesh of ripe fruit is air-dried. The dried slices can be kept for about a year.

The taste of the dried dragon fruit slices can be described as refreshing and fruity-sweet. The sweetness is very pleasant and not too obtrusive, since the fruit contains more glucose than fructose. In addition, unlike the kiwi, to which the pitahaya is often compared because of the similar seeds, the pulp does not contain any acid. The pulp is fiber-free and has numerous tiny black seeds. The cores make the dragon fruit so special. They give the dried pulp that certain something when eating.

The valuable ingredients

A fresh pitaya is about 90% water. It is therefore quite low in calories, also due to its relatively low sugar content. Their prominent ingredients are vitamins C, B and E, with vitamin E being a well-known and important antioxidant for the body. Furthermore, the fruits contain a large amount of iron, as well as phosphorus and calcium.

In its dried form, the fruit can be an enriching diet all year round, because the fresh and ripe fruits are not available that often, are usually quite expensive and often harvested unripe. Whether for fruit salads, ice cream, as a snack on the go, to refine desserts or for decoration - the dragon fruit is convincing across the board.