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I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremel

I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. As for the seeds I agree. It's like eating kiwi seeds. Mangosteen is great! No idea why the author had so much hate. Durian though ... well I've tried it about 7-8 times and I get that it "tastes" good but I still don't get it. For example in Singapore there is a chain of cream puff stores that carry durian and vanilla cream puffs. To my "unrefined" palette they taste 95% the same but one stinks so if I was to go again I'd choose the vanilla that doesn't stink vs the durian that does. I'm sure I'll try them again but I suspect my reaction will be the same. Tastes fine (like vanilla custard) but why put up with the stink when I can just have vanilla custard. That said, last summer when I was in Malaysia was the first time the smell started not being so repelling so (a) I'm getting used to it (b) they were in season (c) like the cat virus they've reprogramed my brain :P

markdown 6y ago
While my experience with dragonfruit are the same as yours, I've heard they can be sweet if allowed to fully ripen on the stem before harvest. This of course doesn't work for commercial production.
philliphaydon 6y ago
> I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. Our experience is vastly different! While not a fan of dragon fruit, I do eat it relatively often as my wife loves it. We usually buy pre-peeled pack at the super market when we visit. For me it is definitely sweet. Not 'extremely' but it's definitely sweeter than a good banana or royal grape. Definitely not bland at all. I don't think I've had a non-sweet version in any of the countries you listed. Edit: I just had a thought. I always eat Purple dragon fruit, not the white one. Maybe that's the difference.
- greggman3 6y ago
  I had both white and purple. I had hoped the purple would be sweeter but I never noticed a difference. It's hard to describe in words what how sweet something is but if I was to rank every fruit I've ever eaten in terms of sweetness Dragon Fruit would be at or near the bottom. I've have bland watermelon but I've had tons of sweet watermelon. I've bland other melons but I've had ton of sweet ones. I've never had a unsweet mango or an unsweet lychee or an unsweet mangosteen. I have had unsweet strawberries but mostly sweet ones. Anyway, I'll keep trying dragon fruit hoping for a sweet one. I think at the moment my favorite fruit I've had in SE Asia is cherimoya and I'm surprised they are not way more popular as they are so dang delicious! It's like someone made an apple + orange creamsicle fruit
  - philliphaydon 6y ago
    OH Custard Apple!!! The best I've had is in Taiwan. It's one of my wifes favourite fruits, but we can't find good one in Singapore.
    - lokedhs 6y ago
      Don't they have them in regular grocery stores in Singapore? They might only have them when they're in season though.
      - philliphaydon 6y ago
        They aren't very good. A lot of the time they are rock hard and if you let them rippen they don't turn out very good. Just used to Taiwan where it's always nice and soft and yummy.
- chriskanan 6y ago
  Try yellow dragon fruit. It actually has a flavor. I find white and red to be bland or maybe grassy tasting. Yellow is sweet.
Markoff 6y ago
agreed, kiwi is the most similar fruit to dragon fruit, never heard anyone complaining about kiwi seed, just eat it, jeez
thewileyone 6y ago
Better chance of the purple/red ones being sweeter IMO. And don't buy the cut ones from the market; buy it whole and do that at home. To choose a dragonfruit, pick the ones where the "leaves"/"tips" aren't dried out, feel heavy/full and slightly firm.
lokedhs 6y ago
I know that chain of puff stores. Their durian puffs are tasty, but I agree with you that the flavour is very mild. The thing about those puffs are that even people who normally don't like durian can appreciate them, and you may fall into that category. There are different places you can get durian puffs where the filling is basically pure durian. Of course, unless you love durian you're not going to appreciate them.
djpr 6y ago
100% with you: Durian pastries in Singapore are bland. Honestly, I haven't found pastry form of Durian that great, and I love, love, love durian since I was a kid (I'm Indonesian). Keep in mind that there are over 200 varieties of Durian - some are even red inside, some sweet, some more pungent than others, different notes and textures. The best for me is Musang King variety in Malaysia, esp. when they get a slight alcohol after taste.

markdown 6y ago

While my experience with dragonfruit are the same as yours, I've heard they can be sweet if allowed to fully ripen on the stem before harvest. This of course doesn't work for commercial production.

philliphaydon 6y ago

> I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. Our experience is vastly different! While not a fan of dragon fruit, I do eat it relatively often as my wife loves it. We usually buy pre-peeled pack at the super market when we visit. For me it is definitely sweet. Not 'extremely' but it's definitely sweeter than a good banana or royal grape. Definitely not bland at all. I don't think I've had a non-sweet version in any of the countries you listed. Edit: I just had a thought. I always eat Purple dragon fruit, not the white one. Maybe that's the difference.

greggman3 6y ago
I had both white and purple. I had hoped the purple would be sweeter but I never noticed a difference. It's hard to describe in words what how sweet something is but if I was to rank every fruit I've ever eaten in terms of sweetness Dragon Fruit would be at or near the bottom. I've have bland watermelon but I've had tons of sweet watermelon. I've bland other melons but I've had ton of sweet ones. I've never had a unsweet mango or an unsweet lychee or an unsweet mangosteen. I have had unsweet strawberries but mostly sweet ones. Anyway, I'll keep trying dragon fruit hoping for a sweet one. I think at the moment my favorite fruit I've had in SE Asia is cherimoya and I'm surprised they are not way more popular as they are so dang delicious! It's like someone made an apple + orange creamsicle fruit
- philliphaydon 6y ago
  OH Custard Apple!!! The best I've had is in Taiwan. It's one of my wifes favourite fruits, but we can't find good one in Singapore.
  - lokedhs 6y ago
    Don't they have them in regular grocery stores in Singapore? They might only have them when they're in season though.
    - philliphaydon 6y ago
      They aren't very good. A lot of the time they are rock hard and if you let them rippen they don't turn out very good. Just used to Taiwan where it's always nice and soft and yummy.
chriskanan 6y ago
Try yellow dragon fruit. It actually has a flavor. I find white and red to be bland or maybe grassy tasting. Yellow is sweet.

Markoff 6y ago

agreed, kiwi is the most similar fruit to dragon fruit, never heard anyone complaining about kiwi seed, just eat it, jeez

thewileyone 6y ago

Better chance of the purple/red ones being sweeter IMO. And don't buy the cut ones from the market; buy it whole and do that at home. To choose a dragonfruit, pick the ones where the "leaves"/"tips" aren't dried out, feel heavy/full and slightly firm.

lokedhs 6y ago

I know that chain of puff stores. Their durian puffs are tasty, but I agree with you that the flavour is very mild. The thing about those puffs are that even people who normally don't like durian can appreciate them, and you may fall into that category. There are different places you can get durian puffs where the filling is basically pure durian. Of course, unless you love durian you're not going to appreciate them.

djpr 6y ago

100% with you: Durian pastries in Singapore are bland. Honestly, I haven't found pastry form of Durian that great, and I love, love, love durian since I was a kid (I'm Indonesian). Keep in mind that there are over 200 varieties of Durian - some are even red inside, some sweet, some more pungent than others, different notes and textures. The best for me is Musang King variety in Malaysia, esp. when they get a slight alcohol after taste.