Exotic fruits have surged in popularity in recent years. Acai Berries, for example, have become a staple in juice shops and smoothie bars across the country. On a recent trip to my local Hannaford supermarket, I came across red bananas, a petite variety of the elongated staple, but with a dark red outer peel. I excitedly bough a whole bunch and ate them obsessively. I was astounded by the fact that bananas can be red. Who knew?

Passion fruit, cherimoya and pepino melons have also made regular appearances, all of which I assume were impossible to find in neighborhood supermarkets twenty years ago. Among the most visually dazzling fruits that I have come across is the pitaya, also known as dragon fruit.

This obscure product is a variety of cactus that grows in Southeast Asia, Central America and South America. Dragon fruit comes in three distinct colors. One as a magenta exterior and a white interior, another as a yellow exterior and a white interior and the final variety also as a magenta exterior and a bright pink interior. They’re all quite dazzling.

As you may have predicted, these fancy fruits have a rather hefty price tag. A single specimen will run you about five or six bucks. So, in my opinion, is dragon fruit worth the investment? I tried a fresh ripe fruit (the magenta exterior and white interior type) to find out.

Flavor

The striking appearance of dragon fruit would lead many to believe that a treasure trove of flavor lies beneath the skin. The harsh reality of the matter is that, from a flavor standpoint, it is completely unremarkable.

There is nothing particularly off-putting about it, it’s just nothing special. It has a subtle sweetness that somewhat resembles a watered-down pear. The fruit isn’t overly sugary, which is nice, but it lacks complexity in the form of tartness, acidity or brightness. It’s just very ordinary.

This is very much an issue of style over substance. Dragon fruit sort of resembles a well-dressed student who rarely participates in class; no one complains he’s there, but he brings relatively little to the table. 5/10

Texture

The texture of dragon fruit will likely divide people, depending on what type of fruits are preferred. Those who fish around for the melons when presented with fruit salad may enjoy it, but even they may have trouble getting used to the rather bizarre texture of this funky fruit.

It is best described as similar to a watermelon or honeydew melon, except softer and somehow more watery. It also has a rather grainy mouthfeel that seems as if it may dissolve in your mouth. It’s not particularly appealing for people like me who prefer firm fruits like strawberries and apples.

There are also edible black seeds scattered across the flesh. They’re smaller than watermelon seeds, but larger than the nearly microscopic seeds of a strawberry. They help to distract from the aforementioned graininess, so I didn’t mind them.

Once again, fans of melons may enjoy the feel of dragon fruit, but I am not included in this group. It’s not a fruit that you can sink you’re teeth into, and it just came off as overly-watery and grainy. 3/10

Versatility

Dragon fruit is very simple to prepare and eat. There is no pit, and the seeds are edible, making prep a pain-free process. Simply split the fruit lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh. Discard the inedible skin (or use it for decoration).

Dragon Fruit is frequently used in smoothies and smoothie bowls, although the fruit’s obscurity makes pitaya-laced smoothies rather hard to find. I concocted my own version by combining it with a frozen banana, fresh blueberries and equal parts apple juice and unsweetened iced green tea.

The texture of the fruit added a slight graininess to the smoothie, but the banana added a pleasant creaminess that balanced it out well. If the smoothie contained only dragon fruit and no other produce, then it likely would have been excessively granular rather than smooth and velvety.

The bold, tropical banana and bright blueberries overwhelmed the subtleness of the dragon fruit, despite there being equal portions of both within the smoothie. There would have to be twice as much dragon fruit and half as much banana and blueberry for the flavor to be detected in this form.

Additional uses include juicing the fruit, churning it to make sorbet or transforming it into a tropical salsa. The flesh can also be found frozen. 6/10

Overall Enjoyment

It’s easy to get hyped up when looking at this distinctive fruit. Unfortunately, the visual appeal simply does not accurately portray what lies inside. There are so many other fruits that I’d rather eat, and even though it looks nice, pineapple still wins the aesthetics award in my book.

Now, keep in mind that I only tried the magenta skin, white flesh variety, but I don’t suspect the other types to differ substantially. Also, I can imagine the frozen variety having an icy, sorbet-like quality. Nevertheless, I cannot say that I enjoyed the fresh variety. It must be embedded into a smoothie for me to gather any enjoyment from it. 3.5/10

Total Score: 17.5/40

Source:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/dragon-fruit-overview-nutritional-information-3217090