What is a dragon fruit few know in our country, and therefore you can confuse it with any other, for example, with pineapple - the peel is similar to scales. Nevertheless, in many countries this fruit is not at all exotic, although it was brought. This marvelous dragon fruit comes from South America (the first records date back to the 13th century in the history of the Aztecs) and Asia. Of course, the distance between these regions is impressive, but still.
Dragon fruit has its own unusual legend of origin. They say that for the first time they saw him when they killed the dragon. Before his death, he burped out of his mouth no longer a pillar of fire, but this fruit. For some reason, it was believed that he was located in the body of the dragon at the base of the tail, which gave this meat an unusually delicate taste. There is still a rumor that it was the taste of this meat and the addiction of people to it that served as the reason for the extermination of dragons, well, of course, except for the damage that they caused to the villages.
In fact, everything is much simpler. Dragon fruit is also called pitaya or pitahaya. It grows on a cactus. Widespread and there are even plantations on which this fruit is cultivated in Israel, Central and South America, Vietnam and Mexico. At the moment there are 3 varieties that the dragon fruit acquired thanks to the intervention of breeders: a fruit with yellow skin and white flesh, with a red peel and white internal contents, and red-pink with the exact same flesh color. Each fruit has seeds, and, like kiwi, they are edible and black.
For the appearance, covered with a certain semblance of scales, dragons, the fruit is also called a prickly pear. Although, to taste, he does not look like her at all. More likely on a kiwi. The peculiarity of pitaya, even some mystery, is that it blooms only at night, which means that it can be fertilized only thanks to nocturnal insects and flying creatures. Like, for example, bats. They are the main helpers of this cactus. Although this circumstance may alert, many in the countries where it grows, it is often used for food and their fact of pollination does not bother them at all.
Red dragon fruit is more common than others, because he is the main and the original. Mainly only pulp is used. But washed fruits also go completely into business. First of all, they are necessary for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. Pulp or juice is added to yogurts, ice cream, dairy products, sorbets and even sweets. From seeds, an excellent sauce is obtained for sweet dishes or the above products. And this is not all applications, but mainly sweet or confectionery products, drinks.
The red dragon fruit itself is rich not only in useful minerals, but also in vitamins. It has a beneficial effect on the liver, helping it recover. It improves metabolism, which can not but rejoice those who have problems with weight (both with excess and with insufficient). And this is especially useful if there are other problems associated with metabolism in the body (of which there are a lot). The use of pitaya is also recommended for diabetes mellitus, because it is no secret that such a disease requires a special diet, and foods should have a positive effect not only on the liver, but also on metabolism, and sugar, which is difficult to digest there, is completely absent - pure fructose.
Of course, these are not all the advantages of this fruit, but this is already quite enough to love it like bananas, pineapples, kiwi, mango, etc. The only drawback is that it can rarely be found on store shelves, but if you have already met it, you won’t be afraid now: there are many ways to use it, too. By the way, an allergic reaction to dragon fruit is extremely rare (maybe because of our small popularity).
Try new fruits and even the most exotic ones, suddenly they will become one of the most beloved!