Dragon Fruit to Light Fire Under Produce Sales
Most exotic fruits never make the transition to household staples, but a few do, according to an article in the LA Times. Mangos, Meyer lemons and others have found a home in grocery stores and on the tables of consumers.
A new exotic, the pitahaya or the dragon fruit, is poised to make an impact in supermarket produce aisles and as an ingredient in other foods. According to the piece, the pitahava is an odd-looking cactus fruit with the texture of a kiwi and the juiciness of a watermelon. There are a number of different varieties of pitahava, which is native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central and South America.
The fruit is mostly eaten fresh; either sliced or scooped out with a spoon. Dragon fruits are also used as an ingredient in sorbets and ice creams, in addition to being eaten fresh. Domestically, Snapple’s Fire and SoBe’s Dragon beverages include dragon fruit juice.
Moderator’s Comment: What do growers and retailers
need to do to convince mainstream consumers to try exotic fruits such as pitahava?
Fresh squeezed dragon fruit juice sounds like it might
be a nice way to sample product, especially if the fruit looks as strange as
the LA Times article describes. [George
Anderson – Moderator]