Discover the best way to prepare and how to cut dragon fruit with our beginner-friendly guide. In a short while, you will excel at cutting and preparing food with skill.
Dragon fruit is a nutritious and delicious exotic fruit that can be tough to cut due to its unique appearance and hard outer skin. However, employing proper tactics enables one to effortlessly cut and chop it adeptly with just a few straightforward steps. Our beginner-friendly guide will show you how to prepare and cut a dragon fruit to get the most out of this tropical treat.
What Is Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit is an exotic and nutritious fruit that can be tricky to cut due to its unique appearance and hard outer skin. However, with the right technique, you can easily slice and dice it like a pro in just a few simple steps.
Our beginner-friendly guide will help you prepare and cut a dragon fruit to get the most out of this tropical treat. This fruit is native to Central America and is a type of cactus plant, similar to the prickly pear fruit.
The fruit known as pitaya, which is also commonly called dragon fruit, is available in various varieties. The most common type has a bright pink exterior and white flesh interior. However, there are also less common varieties with a yellow exterior or bright magenta flesh.
These varieties have become popular in the US, especially in smoothie bowls, and can often be found in the frozen section of grocery stores as a smoothie base.
The yellow dragonfruit has “horns” on the outside, while the pink ones have a green thorny appearance.
Selecting a ripe dragon fruit for slicing
Dragonfruit should have smooth and bright exteriors and not be wrinkled when purchased.
When ready to cut, the skin should be slightly yielding, similar to an avocado, but not mushy.
How to cut dragon fruit?
Dragon fruit may look intimidating, but it’s easy to cut when ripe.
Step 1: cut the object into two halves
To start preparing dragonfruit, you must first cut it in half lengthwise, no matter how you approach it.
Although the exterior of the dragon fruit may look tough, it is quite easy to cut through and expose the flesh. To begin, you can use a sharp knife on a flat surface like a cutting board, and start from the end without the thicker stem. With these simple steps, you should be able to effortlessly cut open a dragon fruit and enjoy its delicious flesh.
Step 2: take off the skin
Method 1: Use a spoon to scoop it out
Scooping out the flesh using a spoon is one of two ways to expose the sweet edible part of a dragon fruit similar to an avocado.
If the fruit is perfectly ripe, this method is easy. However, it can leave some fruit behind if you don’t use a big enough spoon.
Method 2: Peel back the skin
One’s inclination is to eliminate the outer layer. To accomplish this, halve the remaining half once more to achieve a “wedge” form. Grip the extremity of the skin and softly draw it back from the pulp.
“The fruit can be easily separated from the peel without requiring any additional tools.”
Step 3: cut the object into smaller, equal pieces or slices
Dragonfruit can be sliced into half moons after removing its peel.
To make thin slices down the fruit, use a sharp knife on either the scooped-out or peeled-off sections.
Fanning out the fruit slices on top of a smoothie bowl makes for an impressive presentation.
For a fancier presentation or drink garnish, leave the peel on and slice the fruit like an orange.
Step 4: Split the sentence into tiny squares
To create small cubes, start by slicing the dragon fruit as described above, then cut the fruit in the opposite direction.
Ice cubes are perfect for chilling and incorporating into blended beverages. I frequently store frozen chunks of papaya for making this gut-healing smoothie but equally enjoy including frozen dragon fruit whenever available.
How to store dragon fruit?
If you want to ripen a whole fruit, leave it at room temperature until ready to use. If the dragonfruit is ripe but not ready to eat, store it in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
To quickly ripen dragonfruit, place it in a paper bag with an apple or banana. By employing these conditions, the process of ripening will be hastened.
After cutting, store the fruit in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
