The World of Cactus Fruits

The cactus family (cactaceae) is native to Central and South America and produces some of the world’s most popular and exotic fruits – dragon fruit, cactus pears, and the rare pitaya. However, nomenclature can be confusing. So, let’s break down the cactus fruit category and get to know these amazing fruits.

DRAGON FRUIT

Dragon fruit is a diverse family of cactus fruits in the genus Hylocereus commonly (and incorrectly) known as pitaya (the correct term is pitahaya). They grow in vining cactuses that climb up intricate trellises. They’re native to the Americas, but they are now grown and enjoyed all over the world, especially Southeast Asia. All dragon fruit have relatively thick, leathery skin, which allows them to hold up through long supply chains, including ship transport.

Pink Dragon Fruit

• Appearance: Pink skin with long green bracts. Flesh is white
• Flavor: Its white flesh is firm and dotted with tiny edible seeds. The flavor is mildly sweet with a slightly crunchy texture due to its seeds
• Availability: Year-Round out of Ecuador
• Professional Uses: A great dragon fruit variety for slicing and dicing

Red Dragon Fruit

• Appearance: Deep pink skin, red flesh, with short, stubby bracts
• Flavor: Sweet with hints of raspberry. Texture is similar to pink dragon fruit due to its seeds
• Availability: Sporadic
• Professional Uses: Similar to pink dragon fruit, red is good for slicing and dicing. Although, the color may bleed once cut

Yellow Dragon Fruit

• Appearance: Yellow dragon fruit has yellow skin and white flesh. Unlike the other varieties, yellow dragon fruit has no bracts. In fact, this variety grows with thorns that are removed post-harvest
• Flavor: The sweetest of the dragon fruit varieties
• Availability: Year-round out of Ecuador
• Professional Uses: Yellow dragon fruit has a super juicy flesh, which makes it hard to slice and dice. Since it’s also the softest, it’s the ideal dragon fruit variety for juicing, syrups, and cocktails

CACTUS PEARS

Native to Mexico and Central America, but popular in the Mediterranean as well, cactus pears grow along the fleshy cactus pads of cactus paddles. Depending on the variety, cactus pears’ skin and flesh can be vary from green, red, and yellow. The skin is thick and smooth with small, sharp spines that are removed before the fruit is shipped. The flesh contains medium-sized hard seeds which can be eaten, spit out, or strained from the fruit. Cactus pears are juicy and sweet with notes of melon and tropical aromatics.

Red Cactus Pear

• Appearance: Thick green-red skin covered with rough bumps. The flesh is a deep red
• Flavor: Juicy and sweet with notes of watermelon
• Availability: June to November out of Mexico
• Professional Uses: Red cactus pears are most popularly used in agua fescas

Green Cactus Pear

• Appearance: Thick green skin covered in rough bumps. The flesh is pale and full of black seeds.
• Flavor: Juicy and sweet with notes of pear.
• Availability: June to November out of Mexico
• Professional Uses: Green cactus pears are suitable for fruit salads, cocktails and sauces

PITAYA

Pitaya are often confused for dragon fruit. Not for similarities in appearance, flavor, or uses, but for the name. Dragon fruit is pitahaya. Sounds very similar to pitaya, right?

Suggested Reading: Dragon Fruit? Pitaya? Pitahaya? What’s the Deal?!

So, what is pitaya? Pitaya is a rare fruit belonging to the stenocereusare genus. They grow on a columnar orange pipe cactus (think of the emoji!).

Pitaya (AKA pitaya dulce, sour pitaya)

• Appearance: Burgundy-colored, thin skin covered with thorns. The flesh is often a dark magenta.
• Flavor: Juicy and sweet-tart
• Availability: Pitaya doesn’t travel well. They are mostly grown and consumed in Mexico, but a small volume is shipped to the US after irradiation treatment required by the FDA. They are typically sporadically available from May to July.
• Professional Uses: Pitaya can be used fresh or preserved as a paste or jelly.

HONORABLE MENTION

Cactus Leaf, known as nopales, come from the same type of cactus as cactus pears. Note that cactus pears of the fruit of the plant, while nopales are the paddles of the cactus itself – not the fruit, albeit still edible.

Cactus Leaf (AKA nopales)

• Appearance: The green paddles are flat and oblong, and littered with thorns that WILL prick
• Flavor: Their flavor is a combination of a green bell pepper and green beans. The texture is similar to okra
• Availability: Year-round out of Mexico
• Professional Uses: Nopales are a big part of Mexican cuisine. They can be stuffed, grilled, or sauteed. However, the thorns MUST be thoroughly removed prior to consumption