Yellow Pitaya.
You would have known that Red dragonfruit exists, but have you seen a YELLOW DRAGONFRUIT before?
Since we love traveling, we recently went to Colombia to explore and try exotic fruits. We found the Yellow Dragonfruit, the sweetest pitaya of all!
Did you know?
The Yellow Pitahaya has a bright yellow thick scaly skin. The fruit is smaller than the red and pink variety.
The flesh of the yellow pitaya is white and contains many small black editable seeds.
Yellow Pitaya is believed to be native to Central America and Mexico. It is grown today throughout Latin America and is commercially produced in Colombia, Ecuador and Israel. Growers specializing in rare fruits in the United States, specifically in southern California, are known to grow Yellow Pitaya on a small scale as well.
Health benefits
High dietary fiber found in the fruit helps greatly in your digestive system, allowing a quick flush of toxins accumulated in your body, lest lighten the detoxifying-workload of your primary organ, liver, and maintaining optimal health. It is highly suitable for individuals and pregnant women who experience constipation issues.
Dragonfruit contains lots of iron essential for the production of red blood cells, which is beneficial to individuals who experience anemia. For pregnant ladies especially, high volume of oxygen and nutrients carried by red blood cells is needed to supply to the fetus in the womb, therefore it is highly recommended to include dragonfruit into their daily diet.
An excellent source of mono-unsaturated fats, it lowers the risks of developing heart disease and high blood pressure by decreasing bad cholesterol levels and replenishing good levels.
One of the superfood for rich source of natural antioxidants, which minimizes cell damage that is effective at lowering risk of certain types of cancer and other diseases, preventing free radical damage that can lead to premature aging and age-related diseases. Contains three times the amount of vitamin C found in carrots, it helps to boost your body’s natural ability to get rid of heavy metals and other toxins, promote the healing of your body’s cells, and improve your ability to cope with stress.
Omega-3 fats contain within the seeds has been shown to fight against fungal or bacterial infections and autoimmune diseases in the organ systems in numerous researches. Anti-bacterial & fungal properties increase white blood cell count in the body which defends against toxins, and which as an added point, stimulates cell regeneration that speeds up healing, so wounds and bruises will heal at an increased rate.
Because of its nutritional makeup, including antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber that is vital for overall good health and beautiful skin.
The Colombian government has worked hard over the past few years to address some challenges faced by local growers to help them become certified exporters with world class quality.
The best way to eat yellow pitaya fruit is to split them from top to bottom with a sharp knife and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon, similar to how kiwi fruits are often eaten. The flesh of the sliced fruits is visually striking with numerous small black seeds providing an interesting speckled contrast to the bright white and slightly translucent flesh.
On tasting the first mouthful is very sweet, although the taste-buds soon become accustomed to this sweetness and the aftertaste is more watery. The flavor of the flesh is delicious, a bit like a good sweet pear but more tropical without being musky. The seeds are soft, easy to eat and add a hint of nuttiness to the overall flavor.
The texture of the flesh is juicy and refreshing and similar in consistency to watermelon, although the crunch provided by the seeds causes the overall sensation to be more akin to eating kiwi fruit. The seeds although small take up a good percentage of the volume of the flesh and are really not worth removing during eating, unless of course you wish to try to propagate this wonderful cactus.
We hope you’ve learnt something about the fascinating and delicious yellow pitaya. It’s one of our favorite cactus species!
