I didn’t actually harvest these, but it is autumn and many of my favorite fruits are in season.

Dragonfruit are also back in season too (in some parts of the world).  A few months back it was lychee and jujube that were in season.

I should take a photo of the inside of these fruits, they are just as interesting from the inside out. In the meantime, here is a great website of Thai tropical fruits. They list when the fruits will be in season and also the names of the fruits in Thai too.  Longons are call “lam yai” and Dragonfruit “Mang Gorn”.

The persimmon and pineapple guavas are locally harvested. At American supermarket, persimmon sell for $1 a piece. But if you visit the Asian markets you can find a bag of 10 pieces for $1.50. Much better deal!

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Pitahaya (also Pitaya) but more commonly known as Dragonfruit.  They are still a rare and exotic fruit to many Americans.  But the Dragonfruit farmers in Southern California are trying to find more ways to promote this fruit.  So in August they will have a festival and field day held in U.C. Irvine.

Public domain photo of the dragonfruits (and some pineapples hanging around) from Wiki.

I’ve only seen fresh Dragonfruit sold at Asian grocery stores.  And the fruit sticker said it was Vietnam.  Before fruits can get into the U.S. they need to be irradiated to prevent the spread of pest.

Irradiation became an approved phytosanitary treatment for fruits and vegetables entering the United States in 2002. Vietnam is the third Southeast Asian country to have fruit irradiated at an overseas site and approved for importation into the United States. The use of irradiation provides an alternative to other pest control methods, such as fumigation and cold and heat treatments. -US Dept of Agriculture.

It would be nice if California and Florida can get into this Dragonfruit market.  No irradiation and the prices would be near decent for me.  As the Dragonfruit sold at the Asian market was around $5 per pound.  I just skipped those guys and went with dried (red flesh) Dragonfruit (sold at Trader Joe’s).  But nothing is better then the fresh version, maybe at $3 a piece I could deal.

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I was talking to P some time ago, he had just got back from a biking trip across Vietnam. P kept talking about how much he enjoyed eating fresh dragonfruit or pitaya. I had never heard of such a fruit and wasn’t sure how it should look. All I can imagine was something with scales maybe? Then I saw pictures of the fruits and was immediately intrigued by how beautiful and strange it looked. There are three types of dragonfruit - red flesh, red fruit with white flesh and yellow fruit with white flesh.

The photo above of dragonfruit farm taken by tk yeoh of flickr. Notice how the fruits are wrapped in bags. Possibly to protect them from birds, bats, and other natural elements. Dragonfruit farming has been very popular in Asia, from the Philippines to Malaysia. They seem to grow pretty easy and are also grown in San Diego greenhouses. The plants are also available for purchase from Florida. Some day I like to make a trip to these farm and see the real fruit tree. Preferably at harvesting time!

On my last grocery shopping trip to Trader Joe’s, I saw some dried dragonfruit packaged in Thailand. I bought several packages at $2 each. The dried fruit is deep red to purple, with little black seeds that look like sesame seeds. They taste nutty and tart at the same time. I can also make dragonfruit tea with them. The water turns into a very pretty bright pink color.

Photo from Kluang Farms Malaysia.

There is even dragonfruit wine made in Malaysia. For these Kluang wine, the farm uses the red fruit with red flesh. The wines are exported to Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Europe. They should bring some to the U.S. market. I would love to try this, it’s probably really healthy too. Hey, Trader Joe’s global buyers, if you are reading this - please bring some to the states. Read the rest of this entry »