DRAGONFRUIT

"This is Dragonfruit. Other names in English include Red Pitaya, 

Red Pitahaya, Dragonfruit, Night blooming Cereus, Belle of the 

Night and Conderella Plant. Other names : Vietnamese: 

thanh long, Thai: kaeo mangkon, Malay: buah naga and 

Chinese: huǒlóngguǒ. Dragon fruit is low in calories and offers 

numerous nutrients, including Vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, 

plus fiber and antioxidants. Dragon fruit tastes wonderful! - sweet 

and crunchy, with a flavor that's like a cross between kiwi and pear."

   

    

we have 2 kinds of dragon fruits, if the inside of the fruit, white like this picture, it was a bit sour.

if purple, sweet taste.

Sweet pitayas come in three types, all with leathery, 

slightly leafy skin:---

Hylocereus undatus (red pitaya) has red-skinned fruit 

with white flesh. This is the most commonly-seen "dragon fruit". 

Hylocereus costaricensis (Costa Rica pitaya, often called 

H. polyrhizus) has red-skinned fruit with red flesh 

Hylocereus megalanthus (yellow pitaya, formerly in 

Selenicereus) has yellow-skinned fruit with white flesh. 

Early imports from Colombia to Australia were designated 

Hylocereus ocampensis (supposedly red fruit) and Cereus 

triangularis (supposedly yellow fruit). It is not quite certain 

to which species these taxa refer, though the latter is probably 

the red pitaya.

• Recently, in Ahmedabad, at a glittering fashion show featuring Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi, Miss Earth along with Sandeep Soparkar and Jesse Randhava’s sexy Salsa twists, we discovered Dragon fruit, at a dinner hosted by designers Shyamal and Bhumika. The food was North Indian in flavour, as it was complete with mouth watering chats, baingan bharta, makki-ki-roti, rajma-rice, Maa-ki-dal, a variety of rotis, naans, rumali roti and kulchas, along with a very innovative rotating ice-cream machine, placed amongst piping hot jalebis, chai, coffee, a samovar of kahva, paan and an array of mukhvas in a variety of flavours.
  
  
  But, what came as a surprise that fruit from North India and South East Asia was served as a starter. There were platters of all kinds of luscious fruit, which were neatly cut in slices and laid out on a long table, sans chaat-masala or aamchur. There was everything from kiwi to apples to bananas to pineapple to baby oranges to huge marble sized grapes, but then, suddenly, we stood in amazement at a platter, which for all appearances looked like cheese in a red wax covering, sliced like an half moon and garnished with black seeds. But, before tasting it, we wanted to know what it was, and the attendant informed us that it was Dragon fruit. We had heard about it, but never seen or tasted it.
  
  
  Interestingly, it did not resemble a dragon, as it had a beautiful red outer skin and white flesh, dotted with black seeds. It is always good to be adventurous about unknown flavours, so we had some, and discovered that it looked beautiful, but had a rather bland taste. But, then curiosity got the better of us and we requested the attendant to show us the fruit. Immediately, he reached out for the basket of fruit and gave it to us. As we held the fruit in our palms, we saw it was harder, heavier and larger than a pomegranate, but had the most bewitching crimson red colour. 
  
  
  Besides that, it looked like a flower, as it seemed to be layered with uneven petals, which seemed to burst from its skin, similar to the fiery flames which emit from a dragon’s tongue. Interestingly, the Dragon fruit belongs to a succulent species of cacti, so when it is cut into slices; you can see the crunchy black seeds imbedded in the fruit, the colour of which varies from red, pink to yellow. The red variety can best be compared to a lotus embellished with Dragon scales and is grown in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Israel, Sri Lanka, South America. 
  
  
  It is best eaten raw, but often added to jams, ice cream, jelly, fruit juice, curries and wine. Rich in vitamins, it is known to help digestion and other health related problems like diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. In some South-Asian countries, the Dragon fruit is considered to be holy and is often placed between statues of dragons in the altars of many homes. And, if images of fire breathing dragons are bewitching, the Dragon fruit is more so!

Dragon fruit nutrition facts are numerous. Regularly eating fresh or dried dragon fruit is one of the most wonderful ways to stay healthy. Dragon fruit comes in three varieties - red skin with red flesh (widely considered to be the best-tasting), red skin with white flesh and yellow skin with white flesh. It roughly looks like a football. It has a leathery, leafy red skin. The fruit can weigh from 150-600 grams. Dragon fruits are mildly sweet and are best served cold. You should simply cut it in half, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon to eat it. The skin may not be eaten. The little black seeds can be eaten with the flesh, just like a kiwi fruit. The middle of the fruit is the sweetest part of the fruit. As you are interested in knowing the dragon fruit nutrition facts, here is the required dragon fruit nutrition facts.

Dragon Fruit Nutrition Information

Dragon fruits are rich in antioxidants. They help to prevent the formation of carcinogenic free-radicals.

Dragon fruits are packed with vitamin C. Vitamin C ensures bruises and cuts heal faster and helps improve the general immune system.

Vitamin B2 acts as a multi vitamin to recover and improve loss of appetite.

Vitamin B1 plays an important role in the production of energy as well as metabolizing carbohydrates.

Vitamin B3 lowers bad cholesterol level and enhances the appearance of the skin by moisturizing and smoothing it.

The seeds of the fruit contain high polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Dragon fruits help excrete heavy metal toxins from the body.

They help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Regular consumption of the dragon fruit works great for asthma and cough.

Carotene helps maintain and equally improve the health of the eyes.

The proteins from the fruit enhance metabolism of the body.

The fruit serves as a food substitute for rice, for the diabetics. Read more on fruits for diabetes.

They protect the environment by absorbing CO2 at night and releasing oxygen to purify the air.

Dragon fruit can be used as cosmetic and health material, with functions of improving eyesight and preventing hypertension.

It is good material of beverage, delicious vegetable dishes, having high nutrition, low heat, rich vitamin C, may be processed to be all kind of drinks

Dragon fruit can be cultivated easily. It has strong root and is good at water conserving, heat and drought resisting. So planting dragon fruit is low cost.

Dragon fruits are rich in minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus. Calcium reinforces bones and helps in the formation of healthy teeth. Phosphorus aids in tissue formation.

The fruits are low in calories and high in fiber. They help to avoid constipation by acting as natural laxative. They help to improve the overall digestive health. The fiber enhances the digestion and reduces the fat.

Dragon Fruit Nutrition Facts

The typical nutritional value per 100 g of dragon fruit is as follows:

Fiber 0.9 g

Calcium 8.8 g

Fat 0.61 g

Carotene 0.012 g

Niacin 0.430 mg

Phosphorus 36.1 mg

Ascorbic Acid 9.0 mg

Protein 0.229 g

Water 83.0 g

Ashes 0.68 g

Iron 0.65 mg

Riboflavin 0.045 mg

Dragon Fruit Calories

As seen above dragon fruit is low in calories. 100.0 gm of 1 tropical dragon fruit contains about 60 calories. So it can be included in weight loss diets.

Actually the fruit of a cactus named Hylocereus undatus (synonyms Cactus triangularis, Cactus aphyllus) and some of its allied species is famous in the market as dragon fruit. It is popular in south east asia and North America.In india some people have started its cultivation but it is not a common item to be seen in the market.

• Values per 100 g of raw pitaya (of which 55 g are edible):
  Water 80-90 g
  Carbohydrates 9-14 g
  Protein 0.15-0.5 g
  Fat 0.1-0.6 g
  Fiber 0.3-0.9 g
  Ash 0.4-0.7 g
  Calories: 35-50
  Calcium 6–10 mg
  Iron 0.3-0.7 mg
  Phosphorus 16 – 36 mg
  Carotene (Vitamin A) traces
  Thiamine (Vitamin B1) traces
  Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) traces
  Niacin (Vitamin B3) 0.2-0.45 mg
  Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) 4–25 mga
•