I consider myself to be a rather adventurous with food, and am far from being a "picky" eater. I'm not fond of raw celery, although celery cooked into soups and stews is yummy. I have yet to find a vegetable I don't like in some form or other. The same is true with fruits, breads, and sweets; they're all good! Seafood is one of my favorite things, and I find all fishes good, as well as shrimp, lobster, scallops, oysters, clams, and even smoked eel on sushi! The only meat I absolutely do not like is beef liver, and it has been cooked by multiple people who claim that the only reason I don't like it is because I haven't had it cooked their way, the "proper" way; but no, every way is bad. LOL! So, yes, definitely not picky when it comes to food!
Living in a temperate part of the world for most of my life, I've not tried many tropical fruits and am amazed at the variety of things that grow only in the tropics and do not easily transport to my area. Plus, I live outside of a small town of 3000 people and could probably find a larger selection if I lived in a large city. I did live in the subtropical Orlando, Florida, area for a few years and was delighted to find many fruits and veggies that I'd never seen or tried before, such as jicama, chayote squash, taro root, and others. But there are so many more I've always wanted to taste — breadfruit, jackfruit, rambutan, durian, lychee, and... dragonfruit!
I wrote a post about back in 2021 when I found a dragonfruit at a local market, but deemed it too expensive to try. Just one fruit was USD $6 (6 HBD), and I did not know if I would like the taste or not, so I decided not to buy it.
So, I was thrilled when I found a package of dragonfruit, already cut into bite-sized pieces and frozen to keep them fresh, and for almost half the price of one fruit by itself! I figured it was about time I tried it, so I grabbed the package without much more thought. 😁
As I expected, I liked it, since I enjoy a wide variety of tastes and textures in food. To my taste buds, the flavor is somewhat between that of a kiwi fruit and red raspberries. The little black seeds added a delightful crunch when I bit them. One could certainly let it thaw before consuming it, but I thought eating it while frozen would be more fun and let the pieces thaw to mushiness in my mouth like ice cream. The printing on the package indicates that dragonfruit is a good source of Vitamin C as well as antioxidants. Yum!
Some dragonfruits have white flesh on the inside, but mine was red, like the color of beets or raspberries. Therefore, the same as red wine and beets, I imagine that the juice would probably stain light-colored clothing, so I was careful not to dribble it as I ate it.
The package shown at the right is the one I bought. It has a net weight of 12 ounces (340 grams) of fruit, conveniently cut into bite-sized chunks. The bag has a handy Ziploc™ closure to keep the fruit fresh, and to prevent messes in the freezer, should the bag tip over.
The price of the bag was USD $3.98 (which, of course, is about 3.98 HBD), which I thought was a very fair price for an "exotic" fruit (I define "exotic" as something not grown anywhere nearby) already cut into ready-to-eat pieces.
~ photo from Walmart.com ~
I used the photo from Walmart's website, since I bought the fruit at their store and their photo was much nicer than anything I was able to get with my cellphone camera. And here is the link to the product on their website, should anyone wish to read the product details or place an order for pickup at a nearby store: →click here←
Three years ago, @sreypov made a dessert from dragonfruit that looked so good and was so colorful! She called it Dragonfruit Jelly Cake and you can see from her pic how fantastic it looks! Beneath the layer of thickened dragonfruit purée on top is a layer of coconut creme, all perched atop a simple pie crust. It looks absolutely divine! One day, I might try making it! 😋
Although the fruit it usually called "dragonfruit" in English, it is also known as "pitaya" in other parts of the world. Wikipedia says:
"Pitaya or dragon fruit is native to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador."Wikipedia goes on to say that nowadays dragonfruit is cultivated in Asia, the Carribean, and other parts of the subtropics and tropics around the globe. Perhaps that means it will slowly become more available and less-expensive in the areas where myself and other Hiveans live!
Have you eaten dragonfruit? Do you eat it plain, or put it in salads, desserts, stews, or other dishes? Do you like the white- or red-fleshed fruit the best?
😊SOURCES
1 Wikipedia: Pitaya
thekittygirl arrived on the blockchain in 2017 and has been involved in
many communities during her time here. She co-founded TheTerminal
and LadiesOfHive, is a member of TheAlliance, SilverGoldStackers, PYPT, and others.
Kitty's blog features content on a wide variety of topics, ranging from her collection of pretty rocks/crystals, silver, photos of old barns, oddities, skywatching, flower photos, recipes, cats, and everything in-between.
On a personal level, she is a widow. She enjoys most types of food. most types of music (her favorites are Jazz, Blues, Deep House, & New Age), likes learning new things, and loves watching Mother Moon sail through the sky. She stands proud of the wild, untamed Goddess that she is.
22-Jan-2025
