Dragons Fruit - Pitaya

What are few people in the country know about dragons, and therefore you can confuse it with any other, for example, with pineapple - the peel is similar to scales. And nevertheless, in many countries this fruit is not exotic, although it is brought. This wonderful dragon fruit comes from South America (the first mention dates back to the 13th century in the history of the Aztecs) and Asia. Of course, the distance between these regions is impressive, but still.

Dragon fruit has its unusual legend of origin. They say that the first time they saw him, when they killed the dragon. Before death, he vomited out of his mouth no longer a pillar of fire, but this fruit. For some reason, it was believed that he was located in the body of the dragon at the base of the tail, which gave this meat an unusually tender taste. There is still a rumor that it was the taste of this meat and the addiction of people to it that served as an excuse for exterminating the dragons, well, of course, except for the damage they inflicted on the villages.

In fact, everything is much simpler. Dragons fruit is also called Pitaya or Pitahaya. He grows on a cactus. Widespread and there are even plantations on which this fruit is cultivated in Israel, Central and South America, Vietnam and Mexico. At the moment, there are 3 varieties that the dragon fruit has already acquired through the intervention of breeders: a fruit with yellow skin and white flesh, with a red skin and white inner contents and red and pink with exactly the same color in the flesh. In each fruit there are seeds, and, like kiwi, they are edible and black.

For the appearance, covered with a kind of scales, dragons, fruit is also called a prickly pear. Although, to taste, he does not look like her at all. Rather more on kiwi fruit. The peculiarity of Pitaya, even some mysteriousness, lies in the fact that it blossoms only at night, which means that it can only be fertilized only by night insects and flying creatures. Like, for example, bats. They are the main helpers of this cactus. Although this circumstance can alert, many in the countries where it grows, it is often used for food and their fact of pollination does not bother.

Red dragon fruit is more common than others. It is the basic and the original. Usually, only the flesh is used. But the washed fruits are also fully put into action. First of all, they are necessary for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. Pulp or juice is added to yoghurts, ice cream, dairy products, sherbets and even sweets. From the seeds, an excellent sauce for sweet dishes or the above products is obtained. And this is not all the application, but mostly it's sweet or confectionery, drinks.

The very same red dragon-fruit is rich not only with useful minerals, but also with vitamins. Very beneficial effect on the liver, helping her recover. It improves the metabolism, which can not help but rejoice those who have problems with weight (both with and without, and with insufficient). And especially this is useful if there are other problems associated with metabolism in the body (which are very many). Pitaya is also recommended for diabetes mellitus, it is not a secret that a special diet is needed in such a disease, and the products should have a positive effect not only on the liver, but also on metabolism, and sugar, which is difficult to digest there and does not at all - pure fructose.

Of course, this is not all the benefits of this fruit, but this is already enough to love it like bananas, pineapples, kiwi, mango, etc. The only drawback - rarely it can be found on the shelves of stores, but if you have already met, now you will not be afraid: there are many ways of using it, too. By the way, allergic reaction to dragons fruit is extremely rare (maybe because of the small popularity we have).

Try new fruits and even the most exotic, suddenly they will become one of the most loved!