The other day while Amy and I were shopping for produce in Publix we came across something we’d never seen before. It was a bright pink fruit that was about the shape of a mango but had petals like an artichoke. There was no sign, so we asked the produce manager what it was. His answer was “Dragon Fruit” and that it’s “kinda like an expensive kiwi”. We never found out what the price was and we weren’t going to take it to the register to find out, so we decided we’d try it some other time. When we came back to the store, they had them properly labeled: “Dragon Fruit $3.99/ea” That’s pretty expensive for a single fruit but we had to try it out. Here’s what the thing looks like:

And this is what it looked like on the inside:

And then apparently you’re supposed to scoop it out with a spoon and eat it like a melon:

Amy and I decided that it wasn’t as exciting as it looked and that it would probably make a better garnish than a snack. The fruit is actually from a cactus, so it mostly just tastes like water. It has a hint of sweetness but I think when people say “it’s like a kiwi” that really comes from the texture and look of the flesh with the little seeds inside. Anyway, now we can say we’ve tried a dragon fruit.

Here are a few other sites about these funky fruits:

• Greenhouse Girl - The blog of a gardener in Yorkshire who paid £1.79 (~$3.35) for one. I guess we didn’t get ripped off too bad.
• Pine Island Nursery - This nursery grows many varieties of dragon fruit. The differnces in color are really crazy.
• Dragon Fruit Farm - Somebody visited a dragon fruit farm in Malaysia and took pictures of the trees on the trellises . Those are some crazy plants.
• Wikipedia Entry on Dragon Fruit