How to Cut a Dragon Fruit, Types, Ways to Use, Benefits, and More

Wondering how to cut up a dragon fruit because this beauty looks too pretty to tear apart? Is the outer layers bothering you and you want to dig right in? Well, dragon fruit, pitaya, thanh long, strawberry pear, or a pitahaya are all names of the same fruit you just bought. The tropically available exotic fruit is produced in bounty in places like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and more.

It belongs to cactus family, famously called Queen of the Night or Honolulu Queen. Earlier, it was only found in America and Mexico, but now you can find it across the world.

Have you seen a dragon fruit before? It has a beautiful bright magenta exterior with green leaves that resembles mythical beauty and is tough to miss. This fruit might look a bit difficult for you to cut up and might be one of the reasons why you wouldn’t purchase it while buying groceries.

Though you get the chopped ones in the market that are ready to eat, it’ll obviously charge you a bit more than the raw ones.

Why pay the extra money for something that you can quickly learn?

This fruit is magic when it comes to health benefits.

Now are you worried about how to cut a dragon fruit, and if this will take a long time, right? Do not worry! You are at the right place to learn how to cut a dragon fruit and different ways to do it.

You’ll also see the various ways you can use it, the benefits, and some of its disadvantages. The most exciting thing is the recipes down there that will show you how to enjoy this exotic fruit. So, let’s dig in and unleash the beauty of this fruit.

Types of dragon fruit

Do you think that there is only one type of this fruit?

No. This exotic tropical fruit comes in 3 varieties:

Red Dragon Fruit: These have red exteriors with beautiful magenta flesh.
Yellow Dragon Fruit: These are yellow on the outside and white on the inside.
White Dragon Fruit: This one is the most common and widely available worldwide, pink from the outside with white fruit.

No matter which one is available close to you, try it once to discover a new fruit flavor that is unknown to your tastebuds till now.

How to cut a dragon fruit

Now that you have purchased a dragon fruit, it’s time to cut it.

But how do you start?

Step 1

Get yourself a knife, the one you use for vegetables and fruits, and a chopping board.

You may also place it on a surface you use for chopping.

Step 2

Using the knife, cut the fruit in half, lengthwise. Ensure you have a firm grip on the knife while you are cutting it.

Step 3

After cutting it into 2 halves, it’s ready to eat. You may just use a spoon to scoop it up, or if you want to eat it in cubes, try peeling off the skin.

Step 4

If you decide to scoop it, you just need a spoon. The flesh of the fruit is as soft as a mango or a kiwi, so it can quickly get scooped from the skin.

But if you want it in cubes, just use your hands to peel off the skin. As mentioned earlier, it is very soft and does not require a lot of labor.

Note

One thing you need to ensure is that while peeling or scooping, if you leave some pink remnants, it might taste bitter. So just cut the pink portion off and enjoy the fruit.

How to buy dragon fruit from the market

As you decide on purchasing dragon fruit, the first thing that comes to your mind is whether you’ll get the good ones or not. There are a lot of shops selling the fruit but which ones will be the best? You obviously cannot see what’s inside the fruit, but there are a few tips you can use to get decent ones.

Among the 3 varieties we discussed, the pink one is the most common and readily available.

Now you need to keep your eye open for a smooth, bright-colored fruit among the lot.

You better go for the rocky ones if you want the fruit to be eaten as cubes and slices.

These will stay good for a couple of days. But in case you have to make it a smoothie, go for the overripe ones. They will look dry or blotchy.

How to cut up a dragon fruit presentably

In the above section, you saw how to cut a dragon fruit. But now you’ll see how to make it look even more tempting.

As you know, the taste enhances when the food looks presentable. If you aren’t a fruit person or have someone who is picky about eating fruits, try this advice.

You need to make the fruit desirable and attractive, so when you cut up the dragon fruit, you cannot just serve it like that. Either make it in cubes, slice them, make them in spheres, or use shapers.

Step 1

Firstly, whether you want to serve it in cubes, spheres, or slices, you need to peel off the skin.

Step 2

Let’s start with slicing it. Once you have peeled it, put down the flat side and, with the use of your knife, slice it into whatever thickness you want it in. Now place it on a nice plate and serve.

Step 3

To make it in cubes, you have to cut thick slices like 1/2 -inch and then cut into cubes of about 1-inch size.

Step 4

Spheres are the best way to have dragon fruit in your fruit salad or smoothie bowl. Use a scoop or a melon scooper to get spheres. However, to make it look even more interesting, you can use cookie cutters that come in different shapes.

These cookie cutters could be a game changer if you have kids at home. Make them small stars, hearts, flowers, etc., and they will love it. This is a hit among kids and even adults. Try it yourself and see how much they love it.

Benefits

Did you know that dragon fruit is considered to be a superfood? But why is it known as a superfood?

This fruit is filled with Vitamin E, C, Iron, Magnesium, etc. It has fantastic health benefits that you need to know.

As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, a dragon fruit a day keeps the doctor away!

Healthy heart

Dragon fruit has a red pulp containing betalains (which is the reason for the red color in the fruit), reducing the bad cholesterol in your body. Low cholesterol reduces all kinds of heart diseases and makes the heart healthy. The tiny black seeds are sources of Omega fatty acids that are good for the heart.

Strong Bones

Who doesn’t want strong bones? Hence, dragon fruit is excellent for healthy bones because it has about 18% of magnesium, which aids strong bones. Get yourself the daily dose of dragon fruit and see the difference. If you have joint pains, this fruit can work like magic for you.

Younger skin

This fruit is a savior for aging skin. Skin can be damaged due to a lot of factors nowadays, which could be pollution, diet, stress, etc. Dragon fruit is filled with antioxidants and Vitamin C, which helps in making your skin look younger and healthier. Start your day with dragon fruit for a week and say hello to younger-looking skin.

Boosts Immunity

There is so much going on in today’s world, pollution, infections, viruses, etc. Hence immunity has become very important to remain fit and healthy. What’s better than increasing your immunity by having fruit every day? Dragon fruits are enriched with Vitamin C, which fights against deadly infections.

Anti-cancer properties

Dragon fruit prevents many chronic diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.

Ways to use dragon fruit

Now that you know how to cut a dragon fruit, it is worth knowing some easy hacks to use it efficiently.

You can use this fruit as a hydrating drink, snack, smoothie, salad, and more.

Below are some of the easy ways to put it to use:

Aguas Frescas

This is a Mexican drink that is made with water, sweetener, dragon fruit, and ice. Agua de pitahaya is ready! Doesn’t that sound exotic?

Smoothies

As you cut the dragon fruit, try freezing them and adding them to your smoothies. It could be a fantastic mix of oranges and berries.

Salsas

Ever heard of salsa with dragon fruit? This is an easy recipe with dragon fruit, spicy salsa, lime, onion, sea salt, and jalapeno.

Toppings

Try using dragon fruit in your oatmeal, yogurt bowls, granola, or overnight oats.

Fruit salads: This is the primary way to use the fruit! Add all your favorite fruits, including dragon fruit, to the bowl, and you’re good to go.

Tips to keep in mind

You already know how to cut a dragon fruit, but now, using the below, you can ace the art of cutting the fruit:

Always decide the shape as per your dish. For example, if you plan to make a salad or a drink, go for cubes, and if you want to make an acai or fruit bowl, slices are a better option.
Make sure you have a sharp-edged knife, so you don’t have a messy kitchen with dragon fruit all around. It isn’t a very hard fruit to cut; hence a decent knife should do the job.
You may have heard that hard one is the best to make salads, but the ripe ones are the best in taste and flavor. Because the hard ones may not give the exact taste of the fruit, do not go for unripe ones or mushy ones that are overripe.
If you want to show off your plating skills to your guests, use the shell efficiently, don’t throw it away. Get a nice plate, place the shell on it, and then the fruit.
Always freeze the extra fruit you don’t want to eat in one go. The freeze cubes can later be used in making refreshing smoothies.

How to cut a dragon fruit and store it

What do you do with the extra fruit?

Storing the dragon fruit is easy. Of course, freezing it is the easiest, but there is more to it.

Did you purchase the rocky ones? This will take a couple of days to ripen; keep it under room temperature for 3 days, and it’s good to go.

But in case you don’t want it to ripe in 3 days, keep it in the fridge. It will slow down the ripening of the fruit. You can store it for almost 2 weeks. To avoid flavor absorption, you can keep them in a sealable bag or an airtight box.

But what do you do with the leftovers? You can happily store them in the freezer. It can stay good for about 3 months in the freezer. Though the texture and color may slightly change, it should be great for making smoothies.

Final Thoughts

As you have come to the end of this article, I hope now you are clear about how to cut a dragon fruit and make the best use of it.

But one thing that you should be careful about is that you don’t go overboard with this fruit. Anything in excess is harmful to your body. No matter the benefits it has, over-eating will have its side effects—for example, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, hypotension, etc. Hence having portion control is essential. Enjoy the fruit but moderation is the key.