Produce Market Discovery - Dragon Fruit!

Every day since we moved into our house a few weeks ago, I've  driven by a market called Clemons Produce in our new neighborhood, but it's never open on Sunday evenings when I normally do my grocery shopping. I decided to stop in on my way home Saturday afternoon, just to see what the place was all about.

It's the cutest little market, with friendly staff and fresh, reasonably priced fruits and veggies from local farms and some other interesting snacks. What an amazing assortment of produce! I saw lots of exotic items I rarely find at the supermarket, and for much better prices. I had walked in without a basket, not really planning to do much shopping, but by the time I had walked all the aisles I was struggling to balance armfuls of assorted produce, Amish deli meats and cheeses (why has no one ever introduced me to kettle chicken before?! I can't wait to have my sandwich at work tomorrow), German spaetzle, and old-fashioned birch beer to take to the register.

As the cashier started ringing up my items, I noticed a sign that read "Cash or Checks Only." Uh oh! I only had $20 on me, and my deli items alone were going to cost me about $10. I had to sheepishly apologize and ask the cashier to cancel a couple fruits and the spaetzle, but I still managed to walk away with a couple full bags of fresh and healthy treats.

The most interesting discovery from my trip to Clemons was the curious looking dragon fruit! From the outside, it looks like some type of hot pink dinosaur egg meets alien plant - perhaps a cousin of the one from Little Shop of Horrors fame. I had tried some "dragon fruit" flavored candies before but had never seen a whole dragon fruit before. I just had to take one home, especially because it was pink!

Curious about the origin of this strange fruit (and clueless as to how to go about consuming it), I searched online for "dragon fruit" and came across the Wikipedia page for pitaya, which is the proper name. Apparently the pitaya grows on a species of cactus and is native to Mexico and South and Central America. The fruit is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants as well as fiber. 

I followed the simple directions on Wikipedia and it easily sliced in half to reveal dalmation-esque flesh! The fruit inside is soft and white, with tons of tiny black seeds. The inside resembles a kiwi, but not green, and with lots more seeds.

I was able to effortlessly scoop the fruit out of each half and slice into cubes.

Then I returned the pieces to the little fuchsia "bowls" from which they came, and here I had a beautiful and nutritious dessert for two! The flavor is mildly sweet, like a melon, and the texture is just like that of a kiwi. 

What a funky fruit! I just love black and white polka dots, and combined with pink it's a winning style combo any day - I find it fascinating that this strikingly fashionable food occurs in nature! This would be wonderful to serve to company - it provides a gorgeous presentation all on its own and would make for an interesting conversation starter.