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.

Dragon Fruit Wine

Recipe from winemaking jackkeller

Red Dragon Fruit Wine
6 lbs ripe red pitaya fruit
2 lb sugar
6 pts water
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkt wine yeast

Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, carefully trim the greenery from the fruit, wash the fruit well, and chop it coarsely. Put chopped fruit, sugar and yeast nutrient into primary.

When water boils, pour into primary and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover with a sanitized cloth and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir.

Recover primary and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover primary, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast. Stir daily for 7 days.

Strain through nylon straining bag and squeeze juice out of red pitaya pulp. Transfer liquid to secondary, top up if required and fit airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock every 30 days until wine clears and no new sediments form during a 30-day period.

Stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 days, and rack into bottles. Like most wines, it should improve with age.

Dragon Fruit Personal Care Products?

For the ladies....use the fruit skin for a facial. Leave it on for 10 minutes...and wash it away. Tightens up your skin ever so nicely. No need to buy any expensive masks….It works great.

As a matter of fact the Dragon Fruit has been made to personal care products due to it's richness of anti-oxidants essential that is needed to preserve the beauty of the skin.

Dragon Fruit Recipes

Recipe from mwaf

Jams:
Drain peaches and reserve juice. In a saucepan, bring peach juice and cinnamon to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. Pour liquid over peach halves and cool. In a blender puree Tropical Dragon fruit, raspberries & liqueur (if desired). Refrigerate. Place peach halves in dessert cups, garnish with scoop of ice cream and top tropical dragon fruit sauce.

Recipes from Pitaberry

BBQ Quail on Red Dragon Fruit with Balsamic Onions
You need :
4 De-boned Quail
1 Dragon Fruit - peeled & diced
16 Cocktail Onions
100ml Balsamic Vinegar
40 ml Olive Oil

Method:
Season quail generously with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Place quail, skin side down on a preheated char grill, turning over after about 2 minutes.
In a hot frying pan sauté the cocktail onions until tender, deglaze with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and set aside.
When both the quails and onions are ready place precut dragon fruit on a serving plate.
Cut quail in ½ and position on the fruit.
Spoon onions over and drizzle the dish with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Dragon Fruit Boat
You need :
200gms Chicken Meat - cut into pieces
200gms Prawn Meat - cut into pieces
2 Dragon Fruits
1 Kiwi Fruit - skinned and cut into pieces
2 Strawberries - cut into pieces

Sauce Mix:
1 1/2 tbsp Premium Oyster Flavored Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Chopped Mint [optional]
75 ml Water
2 tsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Corn Starch

Method:
Cut dragon fruits into halves lengthwise.
Scoop the flesh out to make balls of about 200 g [7 oz].
Remove any remaining flesh and keep the skin of dragon fruits.
Stir-fry chicken and prawn meat in 2 tbsp oil until done.
Add sauce mix and cook until sauce thickens.
Stir in all fruits. Serve hot on skin of dragon fruits.


Recipe from tropicalfruitnursery

Red Dragon Martini aka Dragontini
Ingredients:
• Four cups of top shelf Vodka
• Two tablespoons of sugar
• One half Red Dragon fruit
• Garnish with Red Dragon fruit for contrast.

Taste of the Dragon Fruit

What does the Dragon Fruit taste like? There seems to be a lot of differing
opinions pertaining to what the fruit actually taste like. Some has said that
it has a melon like flavour and some has even associate it to kiwi or even pears.

As for me it looks quite similar to kiwifruit with the seeds and all,
but that is as far as the similarities go. A good grade dragon fruit @ pitaya @ matanaga will taste much better and sweeter. I find the taste of the dragon fruit to be crunchy with its seed and
the sweetness is just right with plenty of juice. The red and yellow varieties
are better in taste as compared to the white variety.

It is a must try for everyone. The Dragon Fruit is best eaten chilled. It is a great fruit to grow, eat or even made to drinks.

In conclusion A simply delicious fruit! Give it a try and You'll love it.