Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Cut the pitaja in half
• Method 2 of 3: Cut the pitaja into quarters
• Method 3 of 3: Check if a pitaja is ripe
• Tips

The name pitaja or dragon fruit sounds exotic, but there is no fruit that is easier to eat. When you find a ripe fruit, all you have to do is cut it in half or in quarters. The peel is easy to remove by hand, but you can also remove the edible pulp with a spoon. There is no need to wash the fruit or perform any other steps. The flesh tastes like a crunchy, less sweet kiwi, so eat it raw, chilled, or put it in a smoothie.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Cut the pitaja in half

1. Cut the dragon fruit in half. Place the fruit on a cutting board and take a sharp knife. Leave the skin intact and cut the fruit in half lengthwise. By cutting the fruit in half at once from the stem you get two halves and you can see the edible white pulp.
2. Use a spoon to separate the pulp from the skin. Slide the spoon between the pink skin and the white flesh. Lift the spoon to loosen the pulp. The edible part peels off the skin very easily, so this shouldn't be too much trouble.
   • Another kind of pitaja is red on the inside instead of white. This variety is also safe to eat, but is less common than the white-fleshed pitaja.
3. Cut the pulp into cubes. Place the two halves on the cutting board and discard the skin. The black seeds in the white flesh are edible, so you don't have to remove them. All you have to do is cut the pulp into bite-sized pieces and eat it.
   • You can eat the pulp raw or put it in a smoothie or fruit salad to give it more flavor.

Method 2 of 3: Cut the pitaja into quarters

1. Remove the skin from the pitaja. Locate the top of the fruit, where the woody stem is located. You should be able to pull off the pieces of peel around them. To loosen the peel, grab the pieces by the opening and pull them loose just like you would a banana. You now only have the white, edible pulp.
   • You can also cut the pitaja into quarters before removing the skin. Both methods work equally well.
2. Cut the pulp into four pieces. Empty the pulp on your cutting board and get a knife. First cut the pulp vertically in half. Turn the halves so that they lie flat on the cutting board. Then cut them in half horizontally so that you have four pieces of pulp.
3. Cut the pulp into bite-sized pieces. Cut the quarters into smaller pieces. It is best to cut them into small cubes. The pieces do not have to be the same size, but cubes look good, are easy to eat with a fork and can be put in the blender.

Method 3 of 3: Check if a pitaja is ripe

1. Check to see if the skin is bright pink in color. The bright pink skin is the clearest sign that the pitaya is ripe and ready to be eaten. The tips of the peel are slightly green, but you shouldn't see many dark spots. You can still eat a pitaja with a few bruises, but do not eat fruits that are full of pressure marks.
   • If you are not sure if you can eat a pitaja with dark spots, feel how soft the fruit is. If it's not mushy, you can probably still eat it just fine.
   • Some types of pita have a bright yellow skin instead of a pink skin.
   • A green pitaja is not yet ripe, so don't cut it yet.
2. Squeeze the pitaja to see how ripe He is. A ripe pitaja has a stem that you can bend without breaking it off. When you squeeze the fruit, it should feel a bit spongy, just like a kiwi. A pitaja that is mushy instead of spongy tastes as bad as it feels.
   • A pitaja that is hard or firm to the touch is not yet ripe.
3. Leave an unripe pitaja on the counter for several days. An unripe pitaja has a green color and is hard to the touch. Such a fruit is still safe, so keep it in your kitchen until it is ripe. Check every day if the skin has become soft and spongy.

Tips

• There is no need to wash the pitaya as the pink skin is inedible.
• The black seeds in the white pulp are not edible and do not need to be removed.
• Because of its color, the peel of the fruit is often used as a serving bowl. Return the chopped pulp to the bowl if you eat it raw.