The cost of dragonfruit has been halved in the past few years due to better picking, packaging, and shipping methods. You can usually find this fruit selling between $3 - $5 each in your local markets and grocery stores. Higher end stores will charge $7 - $10 each, though it's the same piece of fruit.
I would suggest buying this fruit in chinatown if your locality has one, the fruit will usually be much fresher.
Dragonfruit is commercially produced today in Vietnam and exported all over the globe; but has its roots in Central America where it originates. Asian dragonfruit is pinkish to red, Central American varieties are green.
When you're buying dragonfruit it's hard to go wrong, this fruit will start to mold at the top and mold spots will appear on the outside rind when it's overripe. This fruit has a light pink to reddish color with green offshoots and looks quite beautiful. The flesh is white and reminiscent of kiwi fruit with black seeds inside and like kiwi the seeds are totally edible.
Dragonfruit is very sweet when it's served ripe, the fruit should be very soft when you squeeze it just like a ripe tomato. The flesh color changes to a translucent (greyish) color when its completely ripe. The easiest ways to serve are either sliced in wedges like an orange or halve the fruit and push the rind upwards with your thumbs and the flesh will popout of the rind.
Everyone should try this fruit. It's such a fabulous curiosity, but it is one of those types of fruit you either love or can do without.
Funny that Christmas music was added to this amateur video, but Asians sometime do this not realizing it's a seasonal theme.
HARVESTING DRAGON FRUIT IN PLANTATION
UPDATE: NOTICING DRAGONFRUIT ARE CHEAPER AT YOUR MARKET?
Vietnamese dragonfruit prices dive | Tom Bicknell | 17 December 2009
Prices have plummeted below cost for Vietnamese dragonfruit growers in response to declining demand in China. Vietnam’s dragonfruit growers in the central Binh Thuan province are suffering from a drastic reduction in export prices as Chinese consumption slows over winter. Dragonfruit is in its lower-yielding off season, reported Vietnam News, which has higher costs and generally lower prices, but the current drop-off is the lowest in 10 years, according to farmers. Southern China accounts for 70 per cent of dragonfruit exports from Binh Thuan, and consumption has fallen as a result of cold weather in the region. Prices have dropped from VND12,000-13,000 per kg (US$0.66-0.71) last month to VND3,000-4,000 per kg (US$0.16-0.22) now. Around VND10,000 per kg is required for farmers to break even. While the US and Japan opened to Vietnamese dragonfruit in June and October respectively, tight requirements and low consumer knowledge of the product have kept both markets low volume. Binh Thuan has 11,000ha of dragonfruit orchards, producing about 200,000 tonnes a year, reported Vietnam News.
There is also a red flesh variety.
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