we had a walk round the local market yesterday and there was this strange looking fruit on one of the stalls so i asked what it was and he told me it was a dragon fruit so never ever seeing or tasting one before i bought one he told me how to eat it wow i love em they are beautiful mind you at £1.25 each a bit on the expensive side but lovley after we had ate it i googled it and apparently you can grow them in this country so i'm going to give it a go

I have had a couple my self past few weeks, taste lush and looks even better almost a florescent pink and green

Also tried some chukoo??? looks like a kiwi but tastes like caramel, I have saved the seeds from that.

Just googled it - bizarre looking thing ain't it. Never heard of it neither.

Very interesting:

Dragon Fruit
Is This Fruit For Real? ...

Ok then, I know you won’t believe me, but I bought a dragon in Tesco’s last week ... or should I say a Dragon Fruit. A bit on the expensive side (£1.79) this astonishing looking fruit measured about 5” and as I’ve never seen or tasted one before I was tempted ... but before I risked a taste I did a bit of research to see what I’d got myself into. Here’s what I found out ...


What’s In A Name ...
For such an unusual looking fruit being called a ‘Dragon fruit’ seems fairly acceptable.
Also known as the ‘strawberry pear’, ‘pitaya’ or ‘pitahaya’ it’s the fruit of a several species of cactus ... and once you know this it’s easy to imagine ... if you think about it lots of cactus have bright coloured flowers so why not such bright coloured fruit ...

It’s Hard To Describe ...
The dragon fruit I bought is fairly round in shape, very bright pink in colour and with very prominent ‘scales’ around it. However, you’ll find other varieties which have yellow skin ... it just depends on the variety.


When you cut through the flesh – it feels a little like cutting into the skin of a melon – you find the stark contrast of the flesh inside. In my case I was faced with an opaque white inner with dark seeds throughout ... similar to the seeds found inside a kiwi fruit. Or you could encounter a red flesh inside with the same black seeds depending on the variety.



A Few Varieties ...
There are three different varieties of dragon fruit:

Hylocereus undatus – this has a pink skin and a white flesh … so that’s what I bought. A climbing cactus, it has a red skin, triangular shaped stem and minimal number of spines.

Hylocereus polyrhizus – again a pink skin but this time when you cut into it you’d reveal a red flesh. Similar in nature to the hylocereus undatus, this variety of cactus has more spines.

Selenicereus megalanthus – in contrast this variety has a yellow skin and white flesh. The fruit are smaller than the other two varieties (which can weigh up to 1kg) and contains higher levels of sugar.


How To Eat A Dragon ...
Or should I say Dragon Fruit.
Faced with such a strange looking fruit it was a bit intimidating to think how to eat it ... did you bite into it like a apple ... eat the centre like a pomegranate ... was it best raw or cooked?

In fact you don’t eat the skin of the fruit, just the flesh from inside. I scooped out the flesh with a spoon (it scoops straight out just like scooping out sorbet) and it tasted a bit like melon or kiwi ... actually the taste is very bland considering how exciting it looks!

If you’re thinking of eating dragon fruit it’s best eaten chilled and if you don’t want to eat it on its own have it as a desert with a sorbet.

Other recommended ways of eating dragon fruit are within ice cream, or turn it into a drink by putting the flesh through a juicer or it can be fermented into a wine.

The Benefits Of Eating Dragon Fruit ...
Rich in fibre, vitamin C and minerals the dragon fruit is also low in calories ... so an all round good fruit to eat! This fruit is also rich in phytoalbumins which have antioxidant properties.

Growing Dragon Fruit ...
The cactus which dragon fruit comes from can grow anywhere between a few inches up to 20’ long (that’s for the more mature plants ...). Growing best in tropical, sub tropical or dry climates where there’s about 20-25” rain per year theses plants can cope with extremes of temperatures – from temperatures as high as 104ºF to short periods of frost. Although they don’t like being too wet (this will affect cropping) or long periods of cold weather (which can kill the plants).
These plants survive by growing on trees – they grow out of the soil and over it until they find a tree they can grow on using their aerial roots. They’re not particularly fussy about the type of soil they grow in although grow best when the soil is kept high in nutrients by adding in organic matter.
What’s quite unusual is that the ornate flowers that the plants produce only appear during the night and last only one night ... so pollination has to take place at that point to get a crop of dragon fruit. However, to counter this plants can product 4-6 crops of fruit each year.


Propagate Your Own Cactus ... And Maybe A Dragon
Ok ... so I’ve been less distressed over the cost of the fruit since I read how easy it is to grow your own cactus from the seeds found within the fruit. By simply scooping out some of the flesh and separating out the seeds you’re ready to start planting.
Simply sow in pots containing gritty potting compost, water and then enclose the whole within a polythene bag. It’s as easy as that!
You’ve then just got to be patient for about two weeks before you’ll see the seedlings starting to appear. As I’ve never grown cactus, I don’t know if this is common or not, but the seedlings have two leaves on them ... in fact these are the only leaves this plants will every produce. From this point onwards a spiny stem will begin to grow between the centre of these leaves ... with the leaves being discarded after a few months.
In theory, you should then be able to grow your own dragon fruit ... although let’s hope that they don’t grow to 20’ high!!

Where You’ll Find Dragon Fruit ...
Although grown in tropical climates, it’s unclear where these plants originated although they are native to Mexico, Central and Southern America. Now being cultivated in Southeast Asia the dragon fruit is now the leading fruit export of Vietnam.

And Finally A Legend ...
Well it had to have really ... this exotic looking fruit is crying out to having a legend so here goes ...

Thousands of years ago fire breathing dragons created the dragon fruit. During battle, when the dragons breathed fire the last thing to come out would be the fruit. If the dragon was slain the fruit would be collected and presented to the Emperor as an indication of victory and as such was a prized treasure.
Whilst the slain dragon would have been eaten by the victorious soldiers ... it being believed that if you ate the flesh of the dragon you became empowered with the dragon’s strength and ferocity.
In fact, it is said that the meat from the base of the dragon’s tail from where it was believed the dragons fire originated, was the sweetest and best tasting. It is said that the thirst for these meat is what brought about the destruction of all dragons ... or so legend goes ...

Ohhhhhhhhh n Dave........think you mean chikoo
cinnamon apple and pear mixed is what it tastes like

Am on a roll

Sapodilla
You Say Sapodilla I Say Chikoo ...

Yes ... I’ve been trying a new, exotic fruit ... and I must be having a run of luck ‘cause it tasted absolutely yummy!! In fact, so far, I think this is definitely the best tasting fruit so far ... that’s if you like things sweet ...





Looks Aren’t Everything ...

Don’t be put off by the unappetizing appearance of these little fruits! About the size of a small apricot or tomato and the appearance of a raw potato ... in fact they have been compared to a wrinkly potato as if grows and when ripe, a rotten potato!

But please ... don’t let this deter you from taking a taste ... for hidden within this unassuming skin hides an exceptionally sweet centre which tastes like caramel ...

When ripe you’ll be able to slice open the fruit to reveal a centre with the same grainy texture of a ripe pear and ranging in colour from a pale yellow through to a caramel brown (as you’ll see from my photo).





The flesh is soft enough to scoop out with a spoon ... all you need to avoid are the shiny black seeds (you’ll find anywhere between two to ten within each fruit).

About the size of a runner bean they have a slight ‘hook’ on one end which can scrape your throat if you accidentally swallow one.


What’s In It For Me ...
So, apart from tasting gorgeous ... are sapodillas good for me? Well these little sugary fruits are on exactly good if you’re on a diet ... with over 100 calories in every 100 grams.




But for all that they are a natural source of energy ... an outstanding source of fibre, phosphorus and vitamin C ... are rich in protein and iron ... whilst being low in sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat ...
So, all I can say is, not everything that tastes good is bad for you!! Hoorah!!

What’s In A Name ...
When the same fruit is grown in different parts of the world you always find it’s known by lost of different names and the sapodilla is no exception ...
living in the Bahamas you’ll know this fruit as a ‘Sugardilly’ (I think this is the most descriptive name of all because of its’ sweet taste ...)
move to Brazil and you’ll be shopping for a ‘sapoti’ ...
hop over to Costa Rica where you can enjoy fresh ‘korob’ ...
take a swift trip to India and you’ll find little has changed with this fruit now known as a ‘tree potato'(very descriptive of its appearance this time!), ‘Sapota’ or ‘Chikoo’ ...
this is the same name for this gorgeous fruit in Bangladesh, Pakistan or South Asia ...
and as you continue to travel the world you’ll find the fruits called ‘ciku’ (Malaysia), ‘chicle’ (Mexico), ‘naseberry’ (West Indies), ‘rata-mi'or sapodilla (Sri Lanka), ‘sawu’ (Indonesia), ‘tsiko’ (Philippines) or ‘zapote’ in Cuba ...
In fact these are just a few of the common names for this little fruit the Chinese call the ‘fruit of life’ ...



I Had A Little Fruit Tree ...

Well, actually not so.o..o small, with the sapodilla trees growing as high as 40 metres tall ...

A very slow growing tree with a long life, the trees are evergreen, with glossy, dark green leaves of between 7-15cm in length.

The tree produces small, white bell-like flowers several times a year and bares fruit every two years.




A Bit Of A Chewy Tale ...

Although I’m enthusing of the fruit of the sapodilla tree in times past you would have also found these trees treasured for the ‘sap’ or ‘latex’, a white, gummy substance known as ‘chicle’.

Harvested from the bark of the tree by workers known as ‘chicleros’ who would cut zigzag lines into the trunk of the sapodilla tree to allow the white chicle to drip out and be collected into small bags.
This would then be boiled together with corn syrup, glycerin, sugar and flavoring.

After this mixture had been allowed to dry it was rolled out and cut into pieces of a sweet, chewy substance known as ‘chewing gum’ ... yes, the chicle formed the basis of chewing gum when it was originally made ...

Location, Location, Location ...
The sapodilla trees are native to Yucatan, northern Belize, northeastern Guatemala and other areas of southern Mexico. From these areas it was introduced into the Philippines during the Spanish colonization, throughout tropical America as well as southern parts of Florida and the West Indies ...
India is now one of the main producers of Sapodillas, whilst they are also grown for commercial purposes in Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and other Central American countries.

what is he on

we had some of those...looked fantastic but the ones we had tasted 'orrible.
bland and slightly salty with the consistency of frogspawn

We had chinese pear the other day and they are distinctly average. The best thing about them is the texture. Bit like a perfumes potato

The Dragon fruit it sort of melony and the chikook or wotever is caramel tasting...both lush

..sorry just giggling at Jags, HT and Dom...........I've never tried one, oddly I know but I don't like fruit very much

Who are you and what have you done with the real Jags !!!!!!!