Pitahaya

Outwardly, the pitahaya fruit, one might say, resembles an edible fruit little - it looks more like a cone of large crimson color, but in the section it has a more than exotic appearance. In addition to the extraordinary taste, the beneficial properties of pitahaya are highly appreciated due to the considerable content of vitamins and trace elements. And lovers of exotic fruits who adhere to a healthy diet prefer this particular fetus due to the reduced calorie content of pitahaya.

Pitahaya or dragon fruit, as it is often called, is a fruit of a liana-like or tree-like cactus, which belongs to the genus Hylocereus of the cactus family. This unpretentious plant has adapted perfectly to life in arid areas of the tropical climate. Pitahaya is actively cultivated in Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, China, Japan, as well as in the Philippines and Hawaii.

However, the birthplace of this fruit is the American lands, where pitahaya began to be eaten as early as the 13th century. The first to appreciate the exotic taste of this fruit were the Aztecs. By the way, the yield of the plant is able to exceed all expectations - at the moment more than 30 tons of this tropical fruit are received from one hectare. The calorie content of pitahaya in fresh form is no more than 40 kcal per hundred grams of pulp.

The non-cloying sweet and juicy flesh of mature pitahaya fruit easily departs from the dense peel. Inside the fruit, when cut, a white core is found, which is full of small seeds similar to poppy grains. In addition to raspberry pitahaya with white flesh, there are other varieties of this exotic fruit. For example, Costa Rican pitahaya has a red peel and the same color flesh, while yellow pitahaya has a yellow core and the same surface.

The weight of the average pitahaya fruit is approximately 200-250 grams, but sometimes you can find specimens reaching one or even more kilograms. This fruit is eaten in a fairly simple way - cooled, cut into small slices or wedges (like watermelon or melon) and then eaten with a teaspoon.

But you can use exotic pitahaya not only fresh. For example, in Nicaragua, Colombia and Guatemala, the juice of this fruit is used in the preparation of sweets, ice cream, sherbets, yoghurts, refreshing fresheys and smoothies, and the flesh often goes to make marmalade, jams and sauces.

Interestingly, pitahaya juice with lime in Spain is considered a national drink, and Mexican farmers have mastered making high-quality alcoholic drinks from the pulp of this juicy fruit. Even the flowers of the plant did not bypass gastronomy - you can brew unusually fragrant tea from them.