Dragon Fruit Sorbet Recipe

I'll keep on updating the blog with anything interesting about the Dragon Fruit and at the same time keep a tab on the growth of the Dragons in my garden. I've found one interesting recipe and would like to share with you guys.

Dragon Fruit (Pitaya) Sorbet Recipe
Recipe by:Peter D'Aprix

Ingredients:
2 Dragon Fruits
1 cup pure watersugar or other sweetener to taste
lemon juice
Sorbet Maker (electric or manual are best) or your can just use the pot and a whisk and keep it in the freezer, whisking from time to time. This works but does not make as fine a grain sorbet as the machines.

Preparation:

1) In a pot, put the cup of water and the sweetener. Bring just short of a boil mixing constantly to dissolve the sweetener into the water. Set aside when the sugar is completely dissolved and allow to cool fully.

2) While the water syrup is cooling, cut the fruit into halves. (If you wish to serve the sorbet in using the outer layer as a container, rub the inner surface and the cut edge with lemon juice to preserve the color and keep cool in the fridge. If frozen, they will tend to loose their brilliant color.)

3) Scrape out the flesh with a spoon and purée the flesh in a blender, food processor or other type of machine to turn the flesh into a smooth purée. (This helps cut down on the tendency of the Dragon Fruit to become gelatinous like Okra.)

4) Add the juice of the lemon to the purée both to preserve the color and to balance the natural sweetness of the fruit and heighten the flavor.

5) Stir the "syrup" into the puréed fruit and put into the sorbet or ice cream maker.

Growth rate of the new stems - Part 2

These are a few of the other cuttings that have new stem growth.


Nov 07 07'Nov 24 07'


Nov 11 07' Nov 24 07'

Growth rate of the new stems - Part 1

The following photos are the cuttings that I planted in October 2007 and how much thay have grown over this one month.

Stem 1 - This is a sequence of photos taken from the stem growth from Oct 23 07 - Nov 24 07 . As you can see in less than 1 month it has shown considerable growth.
Oct 23 07'Nov 01 07'
Nov 11 07'Nov 24 07'


Stem 2 - Photos taken from Nov 1 - Nov 24 2007
Nov 01 07'Nov 11 07'Nov 24 07'



Overall a total of 9 new stems have sprouted from the cuttings that I've planted in Oct 2007. I'll post more photos as time goes by.

New stem on a cutting without roots

All this while I've always assume that all plant needs to have roots before actual growth. I'm not sure if that is always the case, anyway a friend of mine showed me his Dragon fruit cutting that has sprouted new stems and mind you there are two of them growing healthily from the cutting. The cutting itself has no roots whatsoever.
Is this really common or what.

Common names of the Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit is known as Pitaya (also known as pitahaya) and Mata Naga. What are the other common names used to describe this mythical fruit.

The common names I found are:
1) Huǒ lóng guǒ (火龍果)
2) Lóng chu guǒ (龙 珠 果)
3) Strawberry pear
4) Nanettikafruit
5) Thanh long
6) Cierge-lézard
7) Poire de chardon
8) Distelbirn
9) Drachenfrucht

If anyone knows of other common names please do let me know.

Legend of the DRAGON Fruit

All this while I've been sharing with you about where this special fruit came from, where it is planted and its value today. I've always wondered why the name Dragon Fruit. Well the skins do look like the scales of a dragon.....ya like I've seen an actual dragon myself. I did some searches on the net and found this interesting article. Would like to share it with all of you.

The LEGEND Of The DRAGON FRUIT...........................
(Extract from tropicalfruitnursery)
According to the legend the fruit was created thousands of years ago by fire breathing dragons. During a battle when the dragon would breathe fire and the last thing to come out would be the fruit. After the dragon is slain the fruit is collected and presented to the Emperor as a coveted treasure and indication of victory.

The soldiers would then butcher the dragon and eat the flesh. It was believed that those who feasted on the flesh would be endowed with the strength and ferocity of the dragon and that they too would be coveted by the Emperor.

It is written that the dragon’s flame originates deep within its body near the base of its tail. The meat from this part of the dragon was the most desirable and most sought after portion. Only the officers of each division would be privy to this cut of meat. The ancient Chinese called this cut the “jaina,” which translates literally to “the sweetest and best tasting.”

The jaina was treasured by all who were privileged enough to taste it, and it is believed that man’s thirst for the jaina is what led to the destruction and eventual extinction of all of the dragons.

Wow...pretty cool right. See now we all know how the Dragon Fruit came about. So what are you waiting for, run to the nearest fruit stall and treat yourself the fruit of the Emperor.

Downstream Products of the Dragon Fruit @ Pitaya @ Mata Naga

The Dragon Fruit are not only good to be eaten fresh, it has been made into other downstream products as mentioned in my earlier post.

What type of downstream products has this wonderful fruit been made into. These are just some of the downstream products :-

The Dragon Fruit are not only good to be eaten fresh, it has been made intoother

1) Cordial juice drinks

2) Mooncakes ( The Chinese cake made during the Lantern(Mid-Autumn) Festival

3) Cosmetics and personal care products

4) Refreshing Tea - Dragon Fruit flowers can be dried and made to tea

5) Energy Boosting Enzymes

6) Jams

7) Puree

As you can see the Dragon Fruit aka Pitaya aka Mata Naga is a fruit that has a lot of potential. Anthocynine a powerful antioxidant found in Dragon Fruit is proven to be anti-aging, anti-cancer and anti-free radical. This is one of the reason why it is now one of the most sought after fruits in the market today.