Upon first inspection the fruit reminded me of a technicolor pineapple.
When you slice open the dragon fruit, it reveals a hot pink interior, peppered with black seeds. Pink with black polka-dots, like a dress from the 80's.
The taste is bright and buttery like a papaya or a guava, and the texture is like a kiwi, firm but yielding easily to chewing, not crispy like an apple. The black seeds have a little crunch just like a kiwi.
Dragonfruit is also called "pitaya". They are native to Mexico, Central and South America, but are also cultivated in parts of Asia. Some varities have white interior flesh with black seeds. Looking at the pictures on Wikipedia, it appears that the dragonfruit we shared was from Costa Rica.
Recently on Top Chef, one of the finalists used Dragonfruits to make the desert in his final challenge. It was a spin on the Singapore Sling. He hollowed out the dragonfruit, put coconut on the bottom of the fruit, and layered fruit macerated in a singapore sling cocktail in it. It looked delicous, surprising and refreshing.
I loved trying the dragonfruit, next on my list . . . mangosteens.
