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Aug 13, 2012

A Dragon Named Pitaya

What's a pitaya or pitahaya?  I was ignorant of that name until now.  I have only known the fruit by its more common name: the dragon fruit.  
Pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) by blumenbiene

To be honest, yesterday was only the second time I have really eaten it.  In both instances, it was mainly out of curiosity.  The first one I tried is the variant with the white flesh.  Yesterday, I tried the bright pink variant which looks like this:

pink.pitaya by hahatango
pink.pitaya, a photo by hahatango on Flickr.

As I was waiting for my order of fish with tofu and brown rice, I was idly munching on a few slices of this fruit that looks very much like a kiwi fruit on the inside, except that it's of a different color.  It actually tastes a little bland compared to the more tasty and tangy kiwi fruit.  In my mind, I only knew it was healthy but I never really bothered to find out how nutritious it is until now.  What stoked my interest was when my companion who was having a late lunch with me yesterday told me that someone she knows is actually eating this to treat leukemia.  Really?!

The dragon fruit, as I have read in various articles is considered an anti-cancer super fruit.  I guess that move to help treat leukemia is not far fetched after all.  Specifically, it is rich in phytoalbumins that combat the formation of cancer-causing free radicals.  It is also considered to be good for the digestive system, for excreting toxic heavy metals, promotes eye health, lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol (now you see why I am more interested?),  and a whole lot more that you could read up on these links:


Now, whenever I eat the dragon fruit, it's not going to be just an idle munching activity.  I know I'll be eating it with a renewed purpose.  I just realized that with all the lifestyle abuses we all subject ourselves to, like eating unhealthy foods, God is so good to provide us also with natural medicines.

And pitaya, I think, is indeed a dragon in it's own right, and so is the story of this mother, the Dragon Fruit Lady.  I have a strong feeling that she is a relative on my paternal side.  I guess, that's for me to find out.


51 comments:

  1. hmn... i somehow liked this fruit the first time i tried it some years ago in thailand... pero di na ako ulit nakatry... :-)

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  2. We have it here locally, sis. I bought this on the cafe, and two slices costs 20 pesos. So I think it's a lot cheaper if you buy it at the market or grocery. :-)

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  3. I have tried this several years ago but I wasn't too happy with how it tasted. Maybe I should give it a try again, knowing that it has lots of vitamins and could give me a boost against CA!

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  4. I did a random review on this too. I also used kiwi for comparison. hihi..I was also hesitant at first because the fruit looks weird. hahaha

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  5. i am actually curious about this fruit but they say that this is so good

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  6. I have come across this fruit in the supermarket but have not tasted it at all, haha! I know how kiwi fruit tastes though and yes, this dragon fruit is loaded with vitamins.

    The next time I tag along with my mom to the supermarket, I'll get myself this fruit and benefit from it too :)

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  7. A Pitaya pala sya. Our company is growing that somewhere in Mindanao. The first time I have tasted it is when they sell it here. It's yummy though I don't like the texture e.


    Mommy Maye

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  8. There are lot of benefits of this fruit. I have eaten this twice. I know it is being sold in the market at really high price.
    I have this in our house. I planted one of the pail with this. I hope it will bear flowers and fruits soon.

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  9. Jessel Atonson-RosalesAugust 14, 2012 at 4:21 PM

    It's my first time to see this fruit and i'm quite intrigue with its color.lol Thanks for this informative post.

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  10. Pahingi pag namunga hehehe...I read that it is easy to cultivate it but for it to bear fruit is a challenge for backyard planting..you need the help of bat or moths to pollinate the flowers or something like that

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  11. It was in Taiwan when I first had this fruit but didn't like the taste :(

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  12. I have seen this fruit in the supermarkets but am still not tempted to buy it. My kids prefer eating kiwi instead.

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  13. Oh yeah! I guess that's why our grandparents lived longer. My grandparents & their siblings lived until 80-90 years mostly of old age. They mainly ate fruits & vegetables. When I was a kid, I remember my Lola hovering over me to eat vegetables because I ate nothing but hotdog ^-^;

    Still that dragon fruit looks weird ( T-T) What does it taste like?

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  14. Was this fruit available a long time ago? I thought it was only recently imported to our country. Hehe! I hope it could really treat cancer!

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  15. It looks like Kiwi right. I wonder what it taste like.


    Visiting from Comment Exchange August 14.

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  16. I couldn't quite pin down what it tastes like. Texture is very much like kiwi. Pitaya tastes somewhat like a toned down version of kiwi, minus the sourness. They say pitaya tastes sweet, but the ones I tasted are kind of bland. It's juicy, though.

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  17. Apparently, it has been in our country longer than we think...it is being cultivated in Ilocos a couple of years ago pa and as Mommy Maye said, also in Mindanao...but it is only just few months back that I began seeing this in groceries.

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  18. Kiwi ka na lang then hehehe... I kind of like munching it, even if it pales in comparison to kiwi's taste

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  19. I guess most of us were expecting this to taste fantastic kasi di ba dragon fruit and it looks exotic. I kind of look at it now as some sort of survival fruit, kasi di ba galing sa cactus...You eat it more for the benefits rather than the taste. :-)

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  20. It does look weird, Ethel...which makes it interesting.

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  21. Sarap nga i-feel ng texture eh...squishy in the mouth hehehe...but the ones I tried are bland...you must have tasted the one that is just ripe the perfect way.

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  22. i eaten once but really dislike the taste...its good thing you shared the health benefits of dragon fruit, perhaps i will eat it again

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  23. Off topic, how did you migrate your intensedebate to disqus?

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  24. I would assume you were having problems with ID, right? Disqus also has issues, sis, but they respond promptly. Here's the article link that saved my life:

    http://bloggerjet.com/gueststory-why-i-switched-from-intensedebate-to-disqus/

    and here's a link about my experience with the switch:

    http://miss-aileen-a.blogspot.com/2012/06/switch-success-from-intensedebate-to.html

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  25. First time I tasted this fruit was when we were in Thailand but here in Subic, I haven't seen this sold in the market. Or maybe I'm just not aware. Thanks for the info I am now looking at it on another perspective ;)

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  26. Not one of my favorite fruits :-( but definitely nutritious.

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  27. i've just encountered this fruit once.. thanks for sharing! :)

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  28. I only got to eat a dragon fruit twice, and both were of white flesh. Hope I can try the pink-fleshed variant soon.. ^^

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  29. Khimbyrlee EerlrybmihkAugust 15, 2012 at 8:58 PM

    WOW! Unique fruit.I haven't seen one in person. What does it taste like? :D

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  30. I did not know there is a pink version. I think I tasted the juice version of white dragon fruit but I forgot how it tasted. :(

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  31. Really kind of hard to compare it with any fruit. Some say it's sweet but to my taste buds, there is just a slight hint of sweetness. Like I said, it's a very toned down version of kiwi minus the sourness.

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  32. The pink one stains a bit....I thought it would be a nice lip gloss or something lol!

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  33. i saw the plant bearing dragon fruit last weekend on our trip to Tagaytay. It's small. I thought it would be like a watermelon -jellybelly

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  34. I did not encounter this kind of fruit, don't know if I can buy this here in Norway. Looks so yummy...

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  35. My sister's officemate has a plantation of dragon fruit, which she sells for P80/kg. It is a lot cheaper than in the market. Every time she buys, I have a chance to taste it again and again. I love putting some salt to taste it better. ;)

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  36. Dragon Fruit is very abundant in Cambodia. It's also one of the most common fruits in Thailand and Vietnam where I used to go. The only time that I was able to taste one was when I came here to Cambodia to work. It's not so tasty like my other favorite fruits, but I used to get some of these from time to time. Now I know, it's nutritional value, might as well get more of this. :)

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  37. I tried the one with white flesh.. I hope to try the pink one too..:)

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  38. I haven't seen this fruit. I hope I could try and taste it also. Maybe when I see some in the grocery ...

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  39. the first time is aw dragon fruit was on a shopping trip to divisoria many years ago. I was so curious that we bought one. We didn't like it though! Di kami nasarapan. Then much later i heard of it's antioxidant properties (ata). Recently i got to taste some again and medyo okay naman, but not very fruity tasting, hehe :)

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  40. saw these fruit once when i went to chinatown and finally tasted it when i was in baguio. two word: deliciously healthy!

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  41. love this fruit very much, aside from the great taste it is also good for the body.

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  42. I am not sure If I have tasted this one but I can remember seeing this at SM supermarket (if I'm not mistaken hehehe)

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  43. I think I will try this one of these days. I always saw this in supermarkets here in UAE. But I'll check again the price also. hehehe...


    http://etc.soundsfunny.ws/

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  44. is this the most expensive fruit? i cant seem to find any here in cebu. would love to rip the flesh out of this lil dragon.

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  45. Itin, if you're near SM Cebu, try to look at the fruits section at their supermarket dept...they might have some or kung may Robinsons dyan, you might have better luck at finding this fruit. Kala ko nga recently lang fruit na to, but surprised that it is already cultivated couple of years ago pa sa Ilocos Norte and as Mom Maye said, even sa Mindanao.

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  46. wow. i've seen this fruit at the grocery but didn't really bother buying one. i guess the fruit doesn't really look appetizing. anyway, thanks for the info. i'll try it sometime.

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  47. Sige bigyan kita. hehehe...
    I hope it will bear fruits soon. I saw some household having these plants in their yards and it bear fruits din naman just like the ordinary ones. Pollinating is needed for the seeds to develop yata. Basta bigyan kita kapag namunga. heheh

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  48. Dragon Fruit! Haha. This is informative. We have this on our table every holiday, but never really tried it. I guess I need to try it this year.

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  49. Yummy! Reading this post made me want to look for dragonfruit now, but I think they're not in season. I've tried this paired with plain yogurt and it was delish! :)

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  50. This is really good, but it is not easily available!

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