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Bob and Susan
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how do you prepare pithaya???
i understand oct-sept is harvesting time for pithaya the catus fruit...
how is it BEST prepared??? 
there are lots in the "backyard" here
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Baja-Brit
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Try Googling for Dragon Fruit as opposed Pitaya.
I believe they are the same thing.
They are also known as strawberry pear.
Hope this helps. 
As you were.
[Edited on 5-10-2008 by Baja-Brit]
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Baja-Brit
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http://thaifood.about.com/od/introtothaicooking/ss/dragonfru... 
AS you were.
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Katiejay99
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The photos of the outer skin in the link for "Dragon fruit" are not the same as the Pitahaya here in the Baja, but the inside fruit looks exactly the
same.
The way to find out if your fruit is ripe is that when you use a small knife to scrape off the needles, they should just drop away very easily. If the
fruit has broken open, it is still good to eat - just wash it good first
To get them off of the cactus, the locals use a long stick with a very sharp point on the end of it which they thrust up and into the fruit to get it
off the plant. It releases very easily.
This fruit does not have a very long shelf life. As well as eating "raw" - the best way in my opinion - you can make jelly out of it by boiling it
very slowly, adding sugar and then putting it through a cheesecloth to remove the seeds. You would do it the same as a fruit like grapes to make the
jelly. It is AWESOME in this way as well.
Enjoy your fruit!
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David K
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Pitaya dulce (Organ Pipe Cactus)
Not the same as 'Dragonfruit'....
Antonio ('BajaCactus') and I stopped at a stand along Mex. 1 in San Quintin in November, 2004 and enjoyed the superior fruit of the Baja desert! Here
are some photos from my web page http://vivabaja.com/1104 when Antonio and I drove to El Rosario together.
On the right is the fruit with spines, on the left they were trimmed and ready to eat.
The fruit was brought up from La Paz.
Antonio shows me how to peel the fruit... it's easy!
Very juicy, 100% edible, tiny strawberry-like seeds, like biting into a cherry popcycle!
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Russ
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Great pics David. My friend gave me one last night and it's on my breakfast menu so I thought I'd take a few photos too. Divid's pics show them with
and without their spines. I'll use long BBQ tongs to pick them but if I can take the spines off first you can just grab'm. I eat them as David show
normally but they're really good cold.
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bajajudy
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The inside of the fruit looks just like Dragon Fruit. Dragon fruit grows on a plant that looks like a pineapple and they can be huge. When we were
in Nicaragua, the juice was available everywhere. I could not tell any difference in the flavor between the two fruits. Dragon fruits are definitely
easier to eat.
Shari is famous for her margaritas....Shari, we need that recipe!
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dtbushpilot
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They make fantastic margaritas.....dt
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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here are the pithayas Juan got this morning out by san roque....yummmy just sliced up ...better cooled
OK so the world famous Pithaya Margarita...uh uh..nothin doin...it's kinda like a secret surf spot....ya gotta come and visit us to find out about it
(IF we like you!!!)jejejeje....
makes terrific slushies with rum too!
[Edited on 10-5-2008 by shari]
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Russ
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Pithayas & a touch of the Captain Morgan blended yum!
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comitan
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First Pass or second.   
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Pescador
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There are two Pithaya plants in Baja. Pithaya Agria (which is the one pictured) and Pithaya Dulce which is usually harvested in August. An old man
taught me how to pick them with an aluminum can that had the top cut off and was slitted to allow it to work like a crude pair of pliers and he put
the fruit in the can, held it, and then gently twisted and they came right off. The indians used something that looked a little like a claw with a
basket on a long stick and they would use basically the same movement. With a heavy pair of gloves you can easily brush the thorn nodules off and
then I usually cut them in half and use a spoon to dig out the fruit.
Comitan is referring to the practice of the indians who did what is called second harvest and they would gorge themselves on the fruit during season
but always put the defecation in a collective area so that when things got real tough later on in the winter, they would come back, break out the
seeds, roast them, and eat them when there was not much else available. I just finished a captivating book on the Seri indians of the mainland and
they basically did exactly the same thing. Great desert survival skill.
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Baja-Brit
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Not the same as 'Dragonfruit'....
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Thanks for putting me straight David.
I was close right .....but no cigar.
As you were.
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Baja-Brit
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Not the same as 'Dragonfruit'....
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Thanks for putting me straight David.
I was close right .....but no cigar.
As you were. |
Yes, close... same 'type' of fruit as for how to eat and texture, etc. But, not the 'pitaya dulce' or 'pitaya agria' that grows in Baja... a
different, albeit similar fruit!
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Bob and Susan
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this is the second sunday afternoon i've had
to check a car out waaaayyy back in the "forest"...
both were "older" mexican couples "harvesting" pitayas...
yesterday the lady was eating one right there...
they told me this is quite a "treat" for them and
it doesn't last that long
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Diver
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Not the same as 'Dragonfruit'....
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Are you sure about this DK ??
FOOD RESOURCE
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
PITHAYA, DRAGON FRUIT, PITAYA
is a red and sweet fruit from a type of cactus. [Mexican Foods],/dd>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya Accessed July 7, 2007
The pitaya (also known as pitahaya, dragon fruit, hu? lóng gu? (âŒó¥â /âŒ?™G), strawberry pear, nanettikafruit, or thanh long) is the fruit of several
cactus species, especially of the genus Hylocereus, but also see Stenocereus. Native to Mexico and Central and South America, these vine-like
epiphytic cacti are also cultivated in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia. They are also found in Taiwan, Okinawa, Israel, and
southern China. The pitaya only blooms at night; they are large white flowers that are often called Moonflower or Queen of the Night.
The species Stenocereus gummosus in the Sonoran desert has been an important food source for Native American peoples. The Seri people of northwestern
Mexico still harvest the highly appreciated fruit of the pitaya agria (Spanish), which the Seris call ziix is ccapxl "thing whose fruit is sour".
Fruit
The fruit comes in three types, all with leathery, slightly leafy skin:
• Hylocereus undatus, white flesh with pink skin
• Hylocereus polyrhizus, red flesh with pink skin
• Selenicereus megalanthus, white flesh with yellow skin
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David K
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Yes, laughing underwater man, I am sure...
The name 'pitaya', 'pitahaya', etc. is applied to several varieties/ species of cactus fruit and the asian vine fruit known as 'dragonfruit'...
IN BAJA (where Bob & Susan live) the fruit is from two species of cactus:
Organ Pipe Cactus (Pitaya Dulce) or Lemaireocereus (Stenocereus) thurberi
Sour Pitaya (Pitaya Agria) or Machaerocereus (Stenocereus) gummosus
IN ASIA (and other places where cultivated) the dragonfruit producing plant is epiphytic... which means it grows on other plants and does not touch
the ground... that is not what grows in Baja.
So, Bob and Susan's pitayas are not the same as the dragonfruit of asia... at least from my research.
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Diver
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
So, Bob and Susan's pitayas are not the same as the dragonfruit of asia... at least from my research. |
That was not the question.
The above article says that the fruit is called Dragonfruit and comes in many species. The species found in Baja is identified as different from those
cultivated in the far east.
The fact that there are more than one species does not diminish the fact that if you ask for dragonfruit in some SW stores, you will get red pithaya
of the species you mention.
Carry on Sunshine Man
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comitan
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Yes I googled Pitayas and came up with Dragon fruit different varieties.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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David K
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Posts: 65116
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Back to the question and added details not asked for ...
Bob and Susan are in BAJA... The pitaya/ pitahaya fruit in BAJA is not called dragonfruit, in Baja... at least not until this year, to my
knowledge!
The word 'pitaya' is used to describe other, similar fruits, even non-cactus fruit, around the world... One of these OTHER pitayas from ASIA is a
fruit marketed under the cute name: DRAGONFRUIT... also called a pitaya... but it is not a Baja pitaya... so a Baja pitaya is not a Dragonfruit...
Unless we are starting a new trend in this thread???
I just don't see dragons much in Baja... but they are everywhere in asia!
I would love to see a sign in a Mexican Baja market that called them Baja pitayas 'Dragonfruit'... I will stand corrected.
[Edited on 10-7-2008 by David K]
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