Mexico: dragonfruit very popular

Dragonfruit, or "pitaya" in Mexico, may be the new kiwi fruit. It's indigenous to Mexico, Central and South America, and is now cultivated in South China and Southeast Asia. The name dragonfruit, a translation of the Chinese, huolong gu, is the fruit of a cactus-like plant, Hylocereus undatus.The Phan family, originally from Vietnam, now farms organically in Sacramento and sells dragonfruit at the Saturday Alemany and Wednesday Civic Center markets. The Phans seem to have a special green thumb, capable of coaxing topical fruits and roots, such as ginger, out of their greenhouse.When you cut through the bright, fuchsia-pink or red skin and segment the fruit, you find a pure-white flesh dotted with tiny black seeds, the size of seeds in kiwi fruit. In folk medicine, is purported to be good for diabetes, to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure, and to minimize asthma and cough.Most Latinos and Asians peel and eat the fruit as it is, but you may use its mildly sweet flavor in fruit drinks and salads. Speaking of fruit, delectable Honeycrisp apples from Watsonville are rolling into markets, along with McIntoshes, Jonagolds and Galas. But last-gasp summer peaches and plums are still going strong in the foothills.And grapes are plentiful, including both red and green varieties and less common black Ribier, sweet French Colombard and Italian muscat grapes.
Source: sfgate.com