yummy.

last night i had the extreme privilege of indulging myself in fruit that d.m. brought back from his jaunts in arizona this weekend [instead of the chilly sunshine of cambridge]. smooth, firm, gelatinous skin, reddish green and perfectly shaped for the hand, the appearance of the outside belied the surprises that would await within.

[what's inside? guess, guess. color? the flesh, seeds?]

a knife through the middle revealed a white interior swimming with tiny black seeds. in ecstatic shock, my mind was whisked away momentarily to my summer trip to shanghai when i first encountered the dragonfruit. [pictured to the left] on that trip, i had my first taste of the most heavenly fruit. [no, no, not the mangosteen, but i will be patient for that glorious moment.] i think i had it first in a fruit salad at the j.c.mandarin hotel's breakfast buffet. as you know, i'm quite fond of the kiwi, so this struck me as an albino version, a novelty so gorgeous and delightful that it made a huge impression. a big, juicy, white impression.

okay, so back to the kitchen. i gratefully took my freshly opened half and took a spoonful of flesh. could this be the same thing i had in china? i thought. everything was identical, except for the skin. the dragonfruit i remembered had these spiky things on the outside. here in my hand was smooth. it took me some googling and crafty research skills to discover its identity: the peruvian apple cactus. as quoted, the apple cactus is medium sized, dark-red fruit with white flesh. similar in appearance to the dragon fruit, but without the prominent spines. flesh has a mild sweet flavor. aha! the culprit was successfully identified.

perhaps next time, the yellow pitaya will meet its fate on my tongue. or the elusive mangosteen. stay tuned.