Fire Breathing Fruit in Florida

One thing I love about traveling is being introduced to things I do not have the opportunity to work with at home.

While grocery shopping in Florida today, I stumbled upon a basket of dragon fruit. A sight never seen in New York, or Maryland even since they are native to South America. So, naturally I bought one. I plan on making a dragon fruit granita out of it to help combat the Florida heat.


Me Reminding You to Eat Local


  

A dragon fruit is a pink and green skinned fruit with a variety of flesh colors, ranging from pink to red to yellow or white. Pink and white are the most common variety and are most likely to end up in your grocery store.

Plethora of Dragon Fruit

A relative of the kiwi, a ripe dragon fruit should have very little spotting on the skin and a slight give when gently pressed with your thumb. The flesh will be tender yet firm and juicy with a mild sweetness.

Like a kiwi, the interior is speckled with edible seeds, and the flesh must be removed from the inedible skin.

The easiest way to tackle this seemingly intimidating fruit is simple:

Slice the fruit in half, lengthwise and then scoop the fruit out of the skin with a tablespoon.





Sorry that the picture is small, I was having problems with the sizing, but if you click on it, it will enlarge.

  
Dragon fruits are a great source of fiber, vitamin c, and calcium. And since it is mostly water, it is easily turned into a variety of mixed drinks, sorbets or simply eaten as is on a hot summer day.

Sounds like the perfect mid summer snack, if you ask me.