Guatemalan Red Dragon Fruit Is Now on Season
According to the NYTimes, “one thing the dragon fruit has mastered, it’s the art of the Hollywood entrance.” The silver-screen comparisons are hard to resist, and lately they also happen to be apt. If dragon fruit were an aspiring actress, the Hollywood press would be hailing her as the latest “it” girl, the reporter continues.
Suddenly the cactus-bred curio is appearing in too many places to count. Skyy is introducing a dragon-fruit-flavored vodka this spring. Celestial Seasonings, the Colorado-based stalwart of herbal infusions, recently began pairing powdered dragon fruit with green tea. There’s a Sumatra Dragonfruit version of Bai, a thirst quencher made from the unroasted fruit of the coffee plant; a line of Lite Pom that blends a few swigs of dragon fruit with pomegranate juice; and a new pitaya-tinged cream liqueur called Dragon Kiss… continue reading the article at “A Fruit With a Future” at NYTimes.
In Guatemala the red dragon fruit goes by the name of pitaya or pitahaya. Pitaya is a night-blooming epiphytic cactus, which is common throughout Guatemala and surrounding countries. Dragon fruit comes in a variety of colors (outside and in), but the most common variety in Guatemala is the red dragon fruit, so named for its red skin and creamy, magenta fruit inside.
As explained in the NYTimes article, pitaya is found everywhere now. I use the Guatemalan red dragon fruit to make magenta-tinted yoghurt smoothies, which we call licuados in Guatemala. I also found this recipe to make red dragon fruit margaritas at The Backyard Bartender.
Red Dragon Fruit Margarita
- Flesh of 1/4 dragon fruit
- 1.5 oz silver tequila
- 1/2 oz triple sec
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add 5-6 ice cubes. Run the blender, adding ice cubes as needed, until you achieve the desired slushy consistency.
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