The texture, color, and presence of bruises on a dragon fruit indicate when it was picked. No credible evidence suggests that cutting the dragon fruit will hasten its ripening.
To ensure the fruit is in peak condition for travel, dragon fruits are often picked before fully mature. However, since they continue to ripen after being removed from the vine, your neighborhood supermarket probably has bins full of various stages of ripeness. Originally from Mexico and Central America, the vining cacti used to grow dragon fruit are now widely farmed worldwide for their delicious fruit. The flesh of these fruits is usually white, with many tiny black seeds.
You can tell that dragon fruit is ripe because of its brilliant color, regardless of the kind you’re seeking. For typical dragon fruit cultivars, this means brilliant, intense fuchsia to scarlet color with scales tinged in lime green to yellow.
A ripe fruit will give considerably if squeezed, comparable to an avocado. If the fruit gives quickly, it is probably overripe. On the other hand, if the fruit is too hard, it is unripe and will need to be ripened in your kitchen.
Ripped fruits will have developed discoloration, which is normal and usually a sign of flesh that has started to sweeten. However, if the fruit has been bruised or has developed brown spots, it is probably overripe and should not be purchased.
Can You Cut Dragon Fruit Ahead Of Time?
It’s time to harvest the dragon fruit trees when the fruit is fully developed. The fruit is usually ready to pick between 27 and 33 days after the vine blooms. The fruit can only be picked once the thorns have been removed with pliers. Needles are pretty sharp, so always use caution and wear gloves.
When a dragon fruit is ready for harvest, simply rotating it a few times will release it from the plant. Don’t sit about until the dragon fruit naturally falls off the tree. The apple has reached its peak of ripeness.
You can also use your fingers to test whether or not a dragon fruit is ready to be eaten. You can open a dragon fruit by gently pushing on its skin with your thumb. The peel ought to be pliable without being mushy.
You know the fruit is overripe when the pulp seeps through the skin. For fruits with thick skins, waiting a few additional days to pick is required.
A dragon fruit that has gone bad will also have a dried-out stem. Feel the stem to see whether it is weak, wilted, or dry to see if the fruit is rotten.
Dragon fruits at their ripeness peak can be kept on the kitchen counter for a few days before they go bad. Then, place ripe fruit in an airtight container and store it in the fridge to extend its shelf life.
The cool air will slow the fruit’s ripening process, allowing you to savor it at its peak flavor intensity a few days later. In addition, this delicate fruit won’t be impacted by the various flavors in your fridge, thanks to the airtight container. Therefore, ripe dragon fruit can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator.
How Long Does It Take A Dragon Fruit To Get Ripe?
A typical fruit maturation period begins at the flowering time and lasts for another 27 to 33 days. You’ll need pliers to cut the thorns out of the fruit before you can pluck it.
A dragon fruit tree can live for hundreds of years. The first crop can be reaped as soon as a year after planting, and the tree can continue bearing fruit annually for another 20-30 years before it dies. Therefore, when it comes to fruit production, more extensive and older dragon fruit trees are far superior to their smaller and older counterparts.
Hot weather plus moist soil can prolong the fruit-bearing season of a dragon fruit plant. Dragon fruits can extend their bearing season by flowering and setting fruit in areas where temperatures consistently exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
A shorter growing season than the typical 5 months may be the case in regions with a cooler environment. Cool nighttime temperatures may prolong flower life, allowing the blooms more opportunities to become pollinated before they wilt and die, but fruit set isn’t influenced when the days are warm.
Watering the dragon fruit plant well can encourage fruit production during the fruiting season. However, a cactus thrives and produces best when its soil remains damp.
Provide about 1 inch of water regularly, or enough, so the soil doesn’t dry up completely. On the other hand, don’t let the soil become too wet, or the cactus can rot.
Just make sure your dragon fruit gets plenty of sunlight throughout the day. Moths usually fertilize dragon fruit at night, but you can pollinate the flowers using a small paintbrush to transport pollen from the stamens to the stigmas inside the blossoms.
How Do You Know If A Dragon Fruit Is Ready?
Dragon fruit, also known as pitahaya, is the fruit of the Selenicereus cactus. Most of these cacti bloom for only one night, and it takes between 45 and 150 days for the fruit to mature after pollination.
To have enough time for delivery, fruits are often picked before they are ready. Since they continue to ripen after being removed from the vine, your neighborhood supermarket probably has bins full of various stages of ripeness.
You can tell when a dragon fruit is ready to eat by touching it, looking at the color, and seeing any bruises. If the fruit is too firm, it will have to be ripened in your kitchen.
Dragon fruits come in many colors, but ripe ones will always be bright. For most types of dragon fruit, this means a vivid, eye-catching color scheme ranging from fuchsia to scarlet, with lime green or yellow at the tips of the scales.
The discoloration is typical for mature fruits and usually means the flesh has started to sweeten. However, if the fruit has been bruised or has developed brown spots, it is likely overripe and should not be purchased.
The cool air will slow the fruit’s ripening process, allowing you to savor it at its peak flavor intensity a few days later. In addition, this delicate fruit won’t be impacted by the odors and tastes of other items in the fridge if you store it in an airtight container.
How Do You Ripen Yellow Dragon Fruit?
Yellow dragon fruit that is fully ripe will yield to light pressure. A day or two at room temperature is needed to ripen fruit. You may keep ripe fruit in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to four days.
When you bite into the yellow dragon fruit, you’ll feel a surge of sweetness combined with a floral juice. However, you can eat the fruit in its natural state, in a smoothie or smoothie bowl, or turn it into a sorbet, granita, or sauce.
The yellow skin of the dragon fruit is poisonous, so before eating it, remove it and discard. Slice the fruit or eat it directly off the peel with a spoon, like you would a melon. The yellow dragon fruit, the tastiest of the dragon fruit kinds, is distinguished by its bright yellow skin, which is covered in smooth, curved spines, and its translucent white flesh, which contains larger but smaller seeds than the pink-skinned species.
You can also use your fingers to test whether or not a dragon fruit is ready to be eaten. You can open a dragon fruit by gently pushing on its skin with your thumb. Peel texture must to be soft but not mushy. When the pulp seeps through the skin, you know the fruit is overripe.
The fruit needs a few more days to ripen if the skin is still very rigid. The stem drying up is another telltale indication of an overripe dragon fruit. Check the stem by touching the fruit to see if it is dry and brittle.
