Dragon Fruit, also called Pitaya, is indigenous to the Americas. Today the cactus vine is grown around the world in sub-tropical areas for its beautiful fruits. The fruit’s texture is often compared to the kiwifruit because of it’s small, black, crunchy seeds. The taste of dragon fruit is sometimes described as bland though it is refreshing and mildly sweet. It has versatile uses in deserts, smoothies, sorbets, salads and as a fresh fruit.

Preparation:

The fruit can be sliced lengthwise and the flesh scooped out or it can be quartered and the leathery skin can be peeled back. Eat only the flesh, not the peel which is bitter.

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Honeydew is a smooth-skinned variety of melon which changes from a pale green to creamy yellow color as it ripens. Their flesh is light green, juicy, and sweet. Per half cup, it only has 60 calories, yet these little guys are packed with tons of vitamins and minerals including copper, potassium, B and C vitamins, and a mentionable source of fiber, with 1.4g per serving.

Honeydew melons are most often enjoyed fresh and its sweet flavor compliments breakfast and dessert preparations, like fruit salads. The pureed flesh can be added to sauces, smoothies, cocktails, and syrups. Honeydew pairs well with lime, mint, basil, sweet cream, cottage cheese, fruity olive oil and fresh berries.

Preparation

If the blossom end yields to gentle pressure, it is ready to eat. Cut honeydew in half with a chef’s knife. Scoop out the interior seeds, slice into wedges and remove the rinds. Can serve as wedges or cut up into smaller cubes. Enjoy!

Storage

Store unripe melons at room temperature. Refrigerate ripe melons for two to three days. Once cut, cover and keep refrigerated.

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Originally from Africa, okra is now widely used in cuisines such as Caribbean, Creole, Cajun and Indian. It is a warm-season vegetable and essential crop in many countries due to its high nutritional value. Ridged along its length, the green, slightly fuzzy pod contains rows of edible seeds that release a sticky liquid when chopped and cooked. This has led to it being used to thicken soup and stew recipes such as Cajun gumbo, but it’s also served whole as a side dish. Okra’s flavor is quite subtle, so it benefits from being cooked with strong, spicy ingredients!

Storage

Keep okra dry and store in the crisper drawer in a paper or plastic container to stop it from becoming slimy or moldy. Avoid washing it until you are ready to use it. Use within 3-4 days.

Preparation

Wash and dry. If you are serving the okra whole as a side dish, and don’t want the liquid to be released during the cooking, trim around the stalks in a cone shape, so that the pod isn’t pierced. If you do want to release the liquid, chop or slice thickly or thinly, according to your recipe.

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Papaya is native to the tropics of the Americas in the regions of southern Mexico and Central America. The papaya is a tree-like plant that can grow over 30 feet tall. The fruit is a type of berry and when ripe it feels soft and the skin turns an amber to orange hue.

Papaya plants grow in three sexes: male, female, and hermaphrodite. The male produces only pollen, never fruit. The female will produce small, inedible fruits unless pollinated. The hermaphrodite can self-pollinate because its flowers contain both male stamens and female ovaries. As a result almost all commercial papaya orchards contain only hermaphrodite papaya plants.

In 1998, in response to the papaya ringspot virus (PRV) outbreak in Hawaii, genetically altered papaya were approved and brought to market (including ‘SunUp’ and ‘Rainbow’ varieties.) Varieties resistant to PRV have some DNA of this virus incorporated into the DNA of the plant.

Preparation:

Papayas are often eaten raw. To ripen papayas, store at room temperature in a loosely closed paper bag. Ripe fruit has more yellow than green coloring and yields to gentle pressure. The fruit is cut in half and the seeds removed. The flesh can be scooped out or cut into wedges. Cover and refrigerate ripe fruit for up to a week.

Papaya seeds are edible, but quite bitter, pepper and reminiscent of horseradish. Save them to use in your next papaya seed dressing!

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