Today I learned that you may be able to find Pitaya (dragonfruit) for sale at the gas station!
I've never seen it before in my life, but it turns out that some gas stations actually sell Dragonfruit sometimes! As I was checking out at a gas station south of where @xtrodinarypilot lives, I noticed something interesting.
They actually had Dragonfruit for sale at the gas station! Normally, gas stations in a lot of the United States will carry fruits like apples, oranges and bananas. They did have bananas too, but I had never seen Pitaya for sale at a gas station yet. I do a bit of travelling, and it is interesting to see how items available at certain stores will vary based upon the geographical location or predominant ethnicity of the clientele.
I ALSO GROW MY OWN!
For those of you who have followed @papa-pepper for a while now, you may remember my "ancient" post about propagating the plant : @papa-pepper/papa-peppers-guide-to-plant-propagation-pitaya-and-prickly-pear
For newer followers, here is a video I recorded a bit ago about my Pitaya Plants.
EATING ON THE GO!
While I am growing some at home, often it is more difficult to eat healthy when you travel. Fast food is so readily available and most "gas station food" is not exactly health food, if you know what I mean. Finding a rare treat like this was an opportunity that I just had to take advantage of!
We picked up four, as shown here by the @little-peppers. With the discount for purchasing two at a time, I think that they were around $2.50 USD each. Compared to the price tag I've seen up in Missouri of around $5.00 USD each. Since these are a more tropical cacti that are frequently grown in places like South Texas and Florida. The ones that I am growing in my garden came from a Pitaya grower in Florida.
Since @mama-pepper was planning on breast-feeding our newest little for a bit, the rest of the @little-peppers and I decided to enjoy one of the Dragonfruit right away, and save the other three for later. Here are a few photos of the @little-peppers enjoying their snack and sharing with one another.
A FRUIT OF A DIFFERENT COLOR!
If you noticed, the inside of the Dragonfruit looks similar to a Kiwi fruit with all of the tiny black seeds inside. However, the white flesh of the fruit is quite a difference from the vibrant green of the Kiwi fruit. Interestingly enough, some Pitaya are also a much more vibrant color on the inside.
WHITE FLESH PITAYA
PINK FLESH PITAYA
This last photo was from my post "There's a Dragon(fruit) in my Garden". I'm not sure what variety we have growing since our did not fruit last year, but I had picked up some ripe Dragonfruit in Missouri last year that happened to be pink on the inside.
You can grow Pitaya from seed if you want to, and we have a few little ones at home growing from the pink fleshed Pitaya pictured above. Since we are down in south, south Texas near the border of Mexico, there are actually some Pitaya growers in the nearby area. I am considering stopping in at one and checking it out with the family, but we will have to see if we have time.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dragonfruit grow from a succulent cactus and have about 10% of the DRV of Vitamin C in just one fruit. Also, they are high in antioxidants. The flesh is a most interesting texture and has peculiar "melts in your mouth" type consistency to it. It is a little strange, but we really enjoy it!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-dragonfruit-at-gas-station
Until next time…
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