This summer, during a drive home to Key West, I made my regular pit-stop at Robert Is Here, a fruit stand in Florida City. After a killer papaya milkshake, I had a look around and one of the first things to catch my eye were the dragonfruit. They're also known as thang loy, pitaya and cactus fruit, the last name probably being the most accurate, because what you see here is just that--the fruit of a climbing variety of cactus called the night-blooming cereus. While this one happens to be pink with black seeds, a white and black variety is also common.
The texture was slightly mealy, like a pear, and the flavor was sugary and a bit floral. With a look like that, I guess I was expecting a more intense flavor. I ate it plain first, and then with a squeeze of lime, as I'm told is done in Mexico.
For more background, there's The DragonFruit Site. They have plenty of dragonfruit links, including instructions for making wine. The Pine Island Nursery in Miami also has a large gallery of different varieties of dragonfruit, many of which seem to be named after Phish songs. Go figure.
[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]
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