Learn how to eat dragon fruit and serve. This unusual horned tropical fruit tastes like a kiwi and is easy to eat. Choose a ripe one, peel and cut this colorful fruit into cubes, slices, and melon balls, and use them to prepare smoothies, fruit bowls and garnishes.
1red dragon fruitor use this method on any color dragon fruit
Instructions
Wash. Wash the outside flesh so when you insert a knife, germs from the skin are not drawn into the edible flesh.
1 red dragon fruit
Cut in half. To begin cutting a dragon fruit, cut it length wise in half.
Cut in quarters. Lay each half flat-side down on a clean surface or dish, and cut each half lengthwise into quarters.
Two Ways to Peel Dragon Fruit
1. Cut each dragon fruit half again so you have four quarters. Then starting at the tip of each quarter, pull down the skin and peel off and discard. The inside white speckled flesh is your fruit. You can then slice, chop or scoop the flesh.
2. Or, work with the flesh while it is in the dragon fruit halves. You can scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, or use a melon baller to scoop spheres, or even serve a whole halve chilled with a spoon.
How to Slice, Chop & Scoop Balls
Option 1. Slice. To slice, cut the dragon fruit into quarters and peel off the skin. Then slice each quarter into crescents. Serve slices as is, with a dip, or use as a garnish.
Option 2. Chop. To chop, cut the dragon fruit into quarters and peel off the skin. Then chop the quarter into chunks or dice or cubes of flesh. Serve chunks as is, use as a garnish, or freeze away for smoothies.
Option 3. Scoop balls. To scoop, cut the dragon fruit into halves, and scoop out balls or spheres using a melon baller. You can also scoop out balls or spheres off of quarter cuts but you'll have more odd shaped flesh left over. Use the balls to make a salad, garnish yogurt, freeze for smoothies or a snack.
How to Serve
Option 1. Make a smoothie. Freeze the meat and blend with other fruits. Here is my dragon fruit smoothie recipe and my pitaya bowl recipe.
Option 2. Make a fruit salad. Toss dragon fruit balls, spheres or dice in with other fruits such as cantaloupe, honeydew, citrus slices and more. Serve with yogurt.
Option 3. Freeze dragon fruit snacks. Blend up the fruit into protein snacks. Here is my dragon fruit snack recipe. And keep them in the freezer for protein boosts.
Option 4. Make dragon fruit ice cream. It makes the best ice cream. Here is my recipe for dragon fruit ice cream.
Video
Notes
Boosts Immunity. Dragon fruit boosts your immune system as it is high in vitamin C and full of antioxidants. It is also unusually high in iron for a fruit, and thus facilitates a boost in energy.Hydrates. Like many melon-like fruits, a high percentage of it is water and thus is good at hydrating and providing the body with electrolytes. Finally, the fruit is rich in fiber and magnesium, the latter making it supportive of sleep.Store dragon fruit. Uncut, dragon fruit will remain unchanged for several days at room temperature. Once cut, however, the fruit must be refrigerated or consumed within a day, otherwise the white flesh will turn tan and soft, and become rancid.Choosing a Ripe One. A dragon fruit is ripe once it has been shipped to the grocer. However, the more ripe, the sweeter the flavor, so you could wait to cut it until the cactus spikes begin to turn brown and wither. If the skin has begun to wrinkle, it is overripe.