Dragon fruit

Selenicereus undatus · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

Dragon fruit, or pitaya, is the brilliantly coloured fruit of a sprawling, night-blooming climbing cactus — a hand-sized ovoid sheathed in vivid pink-red (or yellow) leathery scales that flare into green, leaf-like fins, opening to reveal soft white or magenta flesh freckled with hundreds of tiny, crunchy black seeds. Eaten raw and chilled — halved and scooped, or peeled and cubed — its mild, gently sweet, kiwi-and-pear-like flavour is far quieter than its dramatic looks suggest, making it a fruit prized first for spectacle, texture and nutrients.

Picking a good onedrag

Bright, firm, fins still greenWrinkled, soft, fins blackened

Fins dryingSalads, salsa, skewers - the flesh is still crisp.Everyday best

SkinFull colour, shine going off

The finsTips yellowing and dry

In the handFirm still, gives a little under the thumb

Smell at the baseNo smell at all

What to look for, from bright, firm, fins still green to wrinkled, soft, fins blackened.

What one gives you

66%

Usable yield

185 g · skin and fins off

280 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Keeping ittap a band

Below about 7 C the flesh turns translucent, the scales darken and the flavour flattens; two weeks at 6 C is enough. A domestic fridge at 4 C is colder than it likes.

Humidity

90-95%

Water loss is one of its three great faults, so keep the air damp but the fruit dry: do not mist, and wipe off condensation before it sits on the scales.

Airflow

Perforated bag or vented box

A perforated bag or a vented box slows the shrivelling; sealed plastic sweats and rots the fins where they join the skin.

Ignores the fruit bowl

It gives off almost no ethylene and does not ripen in answer to it, so a bowl shared with apples or bananas will neither sweeten it nor hurry it along.

Preparing