Does dragon fruit taste like a banana? No, dragon fruit doesn’t taste like peanut butter. Nevertheless, the fruit is well-liked throughout Southeast Asia and widely cultivated in Vietnam—due to its tropical flavor.
The Hylocereus undatus, more commonly known as the dragon fruit, is a tropical fruit member of the cactus family. The dragon fruit is a popular tropical fruit due to its refreshing flavor and high vitamin C, calcium, and phosphorus content.
The scientific name for the dragon fruit comes from the Latin word cereus, which means “waxed,” and the Latin word undatus, which means “wavy edges,” all of which describe the fruit’s stems. Although its exact origin is unknown, the dragon fruit is thought to have originated in Central America. In Mexico, it goes by the name pitahaya, while in Central America and northern South America, it is known as pitaya Roja. Several other tall cacti with showy fruit also go by the Spanish pitahaya. Over a century ago, the French brought the fruit to Vietnam.
Is There A Fruit That Tastes Like Peanut Butter?
Does dragon fruit taste nice? Originating in northern Latin American countries like Venezuela and Suriname, this fruit is unlike anything you’d find in the produce section of your local grocery store.
Bunchosia argentea is unique among fruits because it doesn’t have a typically sweet, sour, or neutral flavor profile but rather the taste of natural peanut butter. Therefore, this fruit should be known as the peanut butter fruit.
Things aren’t always as they seem to be in nature. To gain an advantage over their rivals, animals wear dead leaves as masks, and plants develop sharp barbs. Maybe that’s why a jar of bunchosia argentea appears more like an angry, swelling blister than the world’s most popular nut butter.
According to a 2013 report, Vietnam earned 55% of its total fruit export revenue from selling dragon fruit, making it the world’s leading exporter of dragon fruit. However, besides Hawaii, other places like Thailand, Israel, northern Australia, southern China, the Philippines, and even Alaska have all made attempts to cultivate the fruit.
We’ll zero down on the pink-skinned dragon fruit because that’s the most frequent type in America. To prevent spoilage during transport, the fruit is picked while still slightly underripe so that it is solid and does not bruise readily.
Does Dragon Fruit Taste Nutty?
When ripe, dragon fruit presents a sweet flavor that is not nutty, as it tastes like kiwi and pear. The dragon fruit’s texture is also very similar to the kiwi. Immature dragon fruit, on the other hand, has no flavor.
The dragon fruit plant is a cactus native to Mexico and Central and South America. Each fruit begins as a flower that blooms once in the dark. Dragon fruit comes in various colors like pink, yellow and white, all white inside. Like kiwi seeds, they all have tiny, edible black seeds.
Cacti have thorns, and the precious dragon fruit is no exception, with thorns on its branches. But on the other hand, the fruit is a separate tale, as only the yellow variety has thorns on the fruit, which are easily removed.
Dragon fruit is best enjoyed by slicing it in half and consuming it right out of its peel when it is ripe and juicy. You can chop ripe dragon fruit into slices or cubes without worrying about falling apart for a fruit salad.
The margarita depicted here is just one example of the many beverages that incorporate dragon fruit. You can find bags of frozen dragon fruit sliced into cubes or pureed if you want to be sure you get red fruit. Try looking in Hispanic grocery stores.
Vitamins C and B are present in dragon fruit. The meat is nutritious thanks to its high fiber content, but the power lies in the seeds. The prebiotic advantages of dragon fruit seeds are unlocked by the natural bacteria in your gut, as opposed to other seeds like flax, which must be pulverized before the body can reach the good stuff on the inside.
Does Dragon Fruit Taste Salty?
No, dragon fruit does not taste salty. The taste of immature and ripe dragon fruit is comparable to that of a melon in that it is sweet but somewhat bland. However, this fruit is not related to pears at all. Just because the thorny fruit is roughly the same size and form as a pear is all that’s responsible for the moniker.
Dragon fruits with pink flesh are more delicious than those with white meat. Therefore, the color of the flesh should be shown on the grower’s tag on the fruit. In any case, the size and form of the fruit can serve as a guide: white-fleshed dragon fruits tend to be longer and thinner than their pink-fleshed counterparts, and the “wings” of pink-fleshed dragon fruits tend to be shorter.
Look for dragon fruit that is hefty for its size while purchasing it from the market since these will be the juiciest. The fruit’s skin should be a uniform shade of pink without any bruising. When ripe, dragon fruit is slightly firm but can easily squeeze with your thumb, much like a ripe avocado. When a dragon fruit is ready, you can tell because the wings will have dried out and turned a dry, yellowish brown with brown tips. Leave them on the counter after purchase until they reach that stage when they are ready to eat.
What Is Dragon Fruit Supposed To Taste Like?
The consistency of dragon fruit is comparable to that of a kiwi, and it contains hundreds of tiny black seeds with a crunchier and more nutty flavor. However, it is neither an especially sweet nor a particularly sour fruit.
The taste is a concoction of a watermelon, a prickly pear, and a pear all rolled into one. Generally speaking, the cultivars with white flesh are not quite as sweet as their pink and red-skinned relatives. Likewise, the older Asian types are not nearly as sweet as their younger counterparts from the United States.
To allow sufficient time for shipment, fruits are often picked before they have reached their full maturity. However, because they will continue to ripen after being removed from the vine, the bins at your neighborhood grocery store will most likely simultaneously include unripe, ripe, and overripe fruit.
