This straightforward, step-by-step tutorial will show you how to cut a dragon fruit, also known as a pitaya. The tropical treat’s delicious speckled flesh is a nutritious snack or a tasty addition to other dishes.

Don’t pass up the opportunity to purchase any unique dragon fruit you may come across in the market. Its seductive, brilliant magenta skin and green leaves resembling the mythological beast’s scales are challenging to overlook. This tropical fruit, which belongs to the Cactaceae (cactus) family, is also known as pitaya, pitahaya, or strawberry pear.

Although the leaves appear sharp and menacing, they are simple to cut through. You’ll be astonished to discover flesh flecked with tiny black seeds after you cut it open. The pulp can be either white, red, or purple, depending on the kind. The fruit’s peak season considered a superfruit, lasts from the summer into the early fall. Once it’s opened, you may eat it sliced, include it in a salad or smoothie, or even grill it.

Cutting dragon fruit

Despite having scaly, projecting leaves that give the exterior the appearance of being resistant, it is simple to cut through. Like a mango, the skin’s surface is delicate and smooth. Right underneath, the pulp is easily separated from a thicker, softer, waxier, and more malleable peel.

Step 1: Divide in half.

The dragon fruit should be put on a chopping board. Fruit should be cut in half lengthwise using a sharp chef’s knife. I advise beginning at the top and working your way down through the thicker stem. Using a spoon, you can consume the pulp directly from the cut-in-half.

Step 2: Skin removal

You now have two choices because there are two halves. Like an avocado, use a large spoon to scoop out the flesh.

Step 3: Spheres

For spherical spheres, I find it most convenient to scoop out the flesh using a melon baller while the skin is still on.

Storing

Keep the whole dragon fruit in a cool, dry place. If it’s ripe but not ready to eat, you may keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week in a sealed plastic bag. This method stops it from smelling the aromas of other foods.

You can put it in a paper bag with an apple or banana if it’s underripe. These fruits release ethylene gas, which hastens to ripening. For cut pieces, please keep them in an airtight container for 2 to 5 days; however, throw them away when the flesh becomes mushy or brown.

Ways to use dragon fruit

• Blend a smoothie with frozen red dragon fruit.
• Add slices or cubes to an acai bowl as decoration.
• Make spheres with a melon baller and add them to a fruit salad.
• Grilled when cut into big slices or large chunks.
• Add a few pieces to yoghurt, overnight oats, or oatmeal.
• Add the salsa of mango or pineapple.

Want to know more about dragon fruit? Click Here

Read More: How to Care for pet Bird?