Dragonfruit
Dragonfruit

When I spotted this fruit in the market, I left the stall I was standing at and zipped over to the neighboring stall where it was being sold, five-year-old in tow. I started asking the hawker about the fruit when the lady from the previous stall came over, carrying my crying three-year-old. She shot me this look that said “you delinquent father you!” Oops!

The fruit you see above is Dragon Fruit, product of Bintulu, Sarawak. It’s pretty large, weighing about a kilo and about the size of my hand covering my fist. The outer skin is tough and pink, but easily peeled. Between the outer skin and the edible part is a livid purple color. The shot I took of it didn’t come out, sorry. The edible part is gray and shot through with little black seeds. It strongly resembles an

The flesh of the dragon fruit
The flesh of the dragon fruit
enormous gray kiwi fruit, except the seeds are not regularly arranged around the center, but evenly dispersed throughout the flesh. The flavor and texture is kind of like a kiwi too, except not at all citrus-y, and more sweet.

Yet it’s not related to the kiwi! Dragon Fruit, Hylocerus undatus, is in the cactus family and originates in drier tropical climates in the New World. Read more about it at Tradewinds Fruit. Or you can see some better pictures than mine.

Published by bingregory

Official organ of an American Muslim in Malaysian Borneo, featuring plants, pantuns and pictures from the Malay archipelago. Oversharing since 2002.

67 replies on “Strange Fruit pt. 4”

  2. It’s “mouth-feel” is kiwi-like. I really was surprised that it’s not related. The flavor is simple and sweet, like a kiwi without the acidic quality. I doubt you can cook it, but who knows?

  6. im think of planting this dragon fruit..coz it sound really interesting…but i dunno where to get the seed and how to plant it…can u give me sum advice or sumthin?

  8. I first saw these in Vietnam; I had one there, and it was really good. I agree, it tasted like kiwi. They have them all over in Singapore, but I had one here, and it had almost no taste. Will have to try again…

  9. Mark, yes it is a popular fruit in the Southern part of Vietnam. We call them “Thanh Long”, which mean Green Dragon Fruit. It is not the fruit that looks like a dragon though – the catus plant which bears the fruit does.

    I don’t think Dragon Fruit tastes like kiwi though – Kiwi is mushier and more acidic.

  11. I eat this fruit alot also! I’m in expat in HK and yes, it looked strange to me at first also.

    It looks like a Kiwi but it’s quite hard like the inside of an apple. The taste is difficult to describe, v sweet though.

    Recommended!

  12. I’d like very much to learn the basic way of caring for this dragon fruit tree. I just bought one today, in ten inch tall pot plastic cantainer and has already a four large fruit on it. The saleslady have told me that the fruits will be ready to be eaten in about two weeks. Unfortunately the saleslady can’t explain to me how to care for the plant. Please advice. Thanks, Rudy

  14. hi..
    i’m staying in kuala lumpur.can anybody tell me whocan supply me this tree since i want to sell it at my nursery.

  16. Help, this is the first time I saw the cragon fruit and I would like to know where can I purchase dragon fruit? Also, I would like to know where can I purchase the dragon fruit tree? Can you plan it inside or outside. I am from Holland, Michigan. Thank you for all your help.
    Stefan’

  17. my partner and i in school has been using this plant for research.. can you help us if this fruit has an anti-bacterial property for s. aureus? it will be a great help to us! thank u very much…

  18. Dragon fruit plant : Those in Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia can contact me @ 019-3677240. I can help you to get that plant.

  19. i like the taste of dragon fruit and want know more details like, nutrition fact,commercial value, can it use for other uses.

  20. I have planted a couple of Dragon Fruit trees in Taman Changkat Desa, Kuala Lumpur since last 2 yrs.

    They have 8 fruits so far and 3 fruits will be ripe soon.

    Give me a call at 0192129518 if anyone want to learn more about the Dragon Fruit

  21. Have tried dragon fruit before. Didn’t really like it, may be the one I tried did not taste sweet at all.
    Was in a small village called KAHANG in the district of KLUANG, Johor, Malaysia during the last labour day holiday. Found a 40 acres size commercial farm specialised in Dragon Fruit planting. Bought almost 20 pieces of both the white and red flesh dragon fruits at RM50.00 (US$13.15). They taste sweet! I start to love this fruit. Will be a regular dragon fruit eater from now on for all its nutritional value and delicious taste! Anyone out there to confirm its real nutrional value? Please post them here! Good day!
    Oop, also tried the ‘KLUANG’ brand ‘Dragon Fruit Wine’ during the visit. Well, it really taste like grape wine from Australia! 13.5% alcohol content.

  22. Dear Sirs

    Now Vietnam is the biggest source of Dragon Fruit to export to China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Combodia for many years with the hugh quantity and high quality. The area of over 100,000ha cultivate the Dragon Fruit in Vietnam, meeting the larger quantity of the world. It is only Vietnam providing the best quality fruits and hugh quantity. If you need any information about the Dragon Fruit or requirement of this fruit or want to plant this tree, please free contact me at email: klc_vn@hotmail.com

    Thanks for your kind attention
    Best regards
    Ky

  23. I’m curious about the vitamins in that beautiful dragon fruit, has anyone ever done any research? The taste is so so, similar to pineapple and it’s very expensive in my home town, Medan Indonesia.

  24. Dear Sir!
    I need the composition of the dragon fruit’s peel. Can you help me?
    Thank you very much !

  25. im think of planting this dragon fruit..coz it sound really interesting…but i dunno where to get the seed and how to plant it…can u give me sum advice or sumthin?

    by the way, may i have the contacting the man incharge of ur company, because one of my friend would like to visite ur farm…thanks a lot.

  26. Saya baru nak mencuba..Di Tanjong ada ladang 6 ekar…
    Kalu nak detail…cal
    isi banyak Beta Karotene..warna ..purple…
    Sedap

    Anak= RM 10sepokok
    Satu Rumpun=empat anak
    Satu Batang penyokong=RM 13
    Satu hektar=2000 batang penyokong

    Kos 1 hektar=100000RM

    Hubungi azmi: 012-6181827

    harga pasaran=rm 15/kilo

  27. the Dragon Fruit is also used in a energy drink called Elements i had it today when my grandma tried it she’s like “ARRGH what kind of person would wanna drink this”… she’s weird the drink was good they have two element energy drinks Wind and Fire
    Fire Energy Drink has the DragonFruit in it, i’ve gotten it at Coastal. Maybe it’s not that popular and it just came out.

  28. Sangat baik untuk kesihatan, kandungan vitamin C tinggi, serat tinggi, pelawas…
    Mengurangkan kanser perut…Ada Beta Karotene yang tinggi (warna purple)

    Sekiranya berminat boleh hubungi:

    azmi: Email: azmii@upsi.edu.my
    012-6181827

  30. I just watched a bit of The Today Show and they had a man talking about different kinds of unusual fruit. The Dragon Fruit was one of them. On the show it was a dark pinkish purple on the inside and they did mention that it tastes very much like kiwi. Said it is sweeter, and has less acid. If you type dragon fruit into Google the first or second (I forget) site that pops up tells you all about what you need to grow it.

  31. My mother had planted 1500 points of red dragon fruits in one of the corner of Sarawak. It taste really nice. If anybody interested to know more above dragon fruit (Red Pitaya) please! contact me.
    Thanks.

  32. Can the dragonfruit be import to the
    United States because my family would like to plant some dragonfruits down here in Florida, just wondering if they can import dragonfruit’s to the US.
    Contact me @ Riski20@yahoo.com

  34. I’m a farmer.
    anybody like the dragonfruit @
    looking to plant @ try?pls cont.me.
    I’m in KL,my farm in Seremban.
    I’ve 20,000.00 plants.
    start to harvest.
    I’m looking for the buyer @ seller.
    we sale other’s dragonfruit prod. as;
    red wine,fruit juice etc.
    h/p: 6016-2888255
    6019-3958656

  36. Here is a web page address that tells how to extract the seeds from the fruit & how to plant them. http://www.succulent-plants.com/dragon.html I found it by going to google.com & typing in dragon fruit. I finally found some fruit in Tulsa, OK.. I’ve been looking for 2 years & I’m going to try my hand at getting some to grow. Good Luck To All!

  37. how can I get the dragon fruit have fruit? my plan keep having flower, but then it drop, it could not set to fruit.
    Thank you for all

  39. For information, dragon fruit needs a lot of organic fertilizer in the early stage of planting.One to two kg per plant. For general maintainance use N:P:K 15:15:15. Once it starts flowering use N:P:K 0:15:15. Last January 04, I planted dragon fruit plants in front of my new house. In August it started flowering and now it is bearing fruits.Expected to ripe next month. It takes about nine months to taste the fruit from your own garden if you know how to plant it the right way and off course with the right species.The best is red flesh. Contact me if you need the plants or information either as hobby or large scale plantation @ 019-3677240. You will be suprised it will cost you less than RM10 per plant.

  40. Any one who needs to plan dragon fruit in his own plantation in Malaysia, I can supply plants and planting technique also.
    My telephone: 05-6917700
    fax: 6925396

  41. hello all, I’ve been planning dragon fruit in the back yard of my house (in California) since last year. The plan is farely easy to grow. Just find someone that had it and ask them for a branch. Stick it in the ground and it will live. I am using the cheapest fertilizer which is cow manure and it grown terrific. My plants is baring about 20 fruit right now. Eventhough it not ripe yet, but the fruits look really good. If you have any question or would like to ask me any question, feel free to email me at thang_wy_duc909@yahoo.com

  42. dari sabah, dari segi khasiat atau kegunaannya amat menakjubkan tapi kosnya agak tinggi. Adakah prospek pasaran untuk eksport? Ingin tahu ada atau tiada pengilang hasil berkaitan di Malaysia?

  43. Anybody has the address or phone number for the Kluang dragon fruits farm? I would like to visit the farm on my next visit to Malaysia

  46. i have a 56 acre land in melaka. looking for potential partner (JV) to farm the dragon fruit. interested parties pls contact me at this email address ASAP.

  47. I dont’t like to eat dragon fruit but i plant it at my garden as a lanscape plant. Planting is very easy. The technique is very simple. It can grow at any kind of soil but best at 10-30% sand.If your land don’t have sand, very easy lah just add sand to your mound mix it and plant your tree but don’t forget mix also with organic matter like chicken dung or cow dung. It need a lot of sunsine but do not give too much water. It take less than 10 months to give fruit. Organic fertilizer is the best but inorganic fertilizer also can. Fertilize the plant every month and mound it. Remove all thorne 4 ft and below if you plant it at home. Contact me at ajuperi@yahoo.com to discuss.

  50. saya ada tanam dragon fruit ni 10ekar d tanah merah kelantan dah mula berbuah nak cuba dtg cari saya di kebun kat alor pasir @ call 019-9767122 rm 15/kg

  51. Ada sesiapa supply anak benih untuk negeri kedah /perlis. Boleh hubungi saya. Sila beri harga/sepokok. Big Qty

  52. Basid saya boleh supply ke Kedah n perlis…satu batang RM4 termasuk pengangkuta: lebih 2000 batang
    Berminat calla Azmi: 012-6181827

  54. Hi…. i just want to ask if where can i purchase a dragon fruit tree or seedlings. i wonder if it is possible for it to survive here in the philippines…. thank you

  56. Interested to start planting dragonfruit on medium scale in Sarawak! But no idea where to get the trees!! Interested to share info please email:akijebai@hotmail.com

  57. I have tried the dragon fruit once and can’t find it anywhere when i ask ppl about it they say that it is not real i want to plant it do you know where i can buy the tree?

  58. Any body want to buy cutting of Dragon Fruit tree
    Pls contact me: Azmi 012-6181827

    RM 4 per cutting included transportation if buy in large amount

  59. Had no idea that the dragon fruits originated from here. I also had no idea what it was called. So umm do the come close to durians?

  61. The fruit is antioxidant. As of now we are conducting a research studies of dragon fruit to determine the chemical components if this fruit is really good for the body and also beneficial as an alternative medicine. We are still looking different studies made of this fruit. However, all the comments we encounter is not enough to support our studies, instead just to give us an idea to pursue our research for further assessment and testing for the new wonder drug maybe if we will succeed in our research.

  62. saya cadangkan supaya sebuah persatuan peladang2 buah kaktus ditubuhkan bagi merancakkan lagi pemasaran,harga dan promosi demi kebaikan industri dragon fruit.untuk peringkat awal pemilik2 ladang boleh menyiarkan alamat penuh ladang berserta nama penuh pemilik ladang di ruangan ini.

  64. its no longer that strange you know, every 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar, the markets will have lots of those, since the taoist-buddhists use it for the prayers.

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