Pink Dragonfruit Lime Citrus-Sweetened Syrup (refined-sugar-free)

Pink Dragonfruit Lime Citrus-Sweetened Syrup (refined-sugar-free)
Dragonfruit, or pitaya, is so healthy! I made it into a fruit-sweetened syrup to add to water or pour on pancakes or flavor smoothies. Dragonfruit is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, B vitamins and protein. Pair it with lime and a bit of orange juice for a fruity flavorful syrup.

Here I used the flesh from PINK dragonfruits. That means the flesh on the inside is pink. In fact, I bought my pink dragonfruit frozen from the freezer section in my grocery store. If you can get fresh pink pitayas, use those! How lucky. I can only find the ones you see in the picture that I sliced into my infused water. Those are white pitayas.
To make this refreshing drink, I put a few tablespoons of my new syrup  in a pitcher of iced water and plunked in limes and chopped white pitaya for a fun refreshing cooler we enjoyed on our porch. (Finally the rain stopped)
The juice from limes and oranges give the drink an energizing citrus kick.
Next time, though I think I’ll pour this syrup on crepes. What would you pour it on?

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Pink Dragonfruit Lime Citrus-Sweetened Syrup (refined-sugar-free)

Ingredients

Pink Dragonfruit Syrup:

• 1 cup pink pitaya (Just under three 3.5oz packages - I used PitayaPlus brand found in supermarket freezer area but if you can find fresh pink pitaya, use those!
• 1/4 cup lime juice I juiced 4 limes
• 1/4 cup orange juice I bought freshly-squeezed, but you can juice fresh as well

Pink Dragonfruit Lime Cooler:

• 2 tbsp pink dragonfruit syrup Add more if you don't mind the color deepening
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 cups water
• ice
• limes chopped
• white pitaya chopped

Instructions

Make the Syrup

1. Blend up the pink pitaya until creamy. If you use the frozen packages, let them thaw of course, before opening the packages. If you use fresh pink pitaya or dragonfruit (remember, it needs to be pink on the inside, not the white one), peel off the outer peel, chop the fruit a bit, and blend it with some water to achieve a creamy texture.

2. Put the blended pitaya mixture in a sauce pan, and simmer, bubbling it down about one-third to one-half the initial amount to thicken it. CONTINUE stirring the entire time.
3. Once you have your pitaya reduced and thickened to your liking, take the pan off the stove and let it cool.
4. Once cool, stir in the lime and orange juice. You might want to add half of each at first and taste-test - if you want it sweeter, add more orange juice than lime juice. And you might want to add less if you'd prefer to keep the syrup very thick, and not liquidy. I used the frozen pitaya and was able to reduce it very well, so adding the juices didn't make it purely liquid but it did loosen it up.
5. The beautiful syrup keeps about 3 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Use it to flavor smoothies and infused water, and to pour on pancakes, waffles and crepes!

Make the Sparkling Water

1. Mix up ingredients, pour over ice and garnish with lime slices.