It's NOT Dragon Fruit, It's Peruvian Apple Cactus!

Episode: 730 Peruvian apple cactus
Species: Cereus repandus
Location: NYC, USA
Thanks www.raindances... for sending this to me, check out their site for seeds!
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[@WeirdExplorer]

want more cactus fruit? 🌵 Here's a comparison on the red, white and yellow dragon fruit kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2jbh6CXe9toeKs

[@samheasmanwhite]

Seems like many cactuses share a very similar internal composition, I have a big Echinopsis pachanoi that fruits most years and has a fruit with similar insides, but the outside stays green and it eventually splits open for the birds/bats to eat. Similarly weak flavour, but very sweet with a floral flavour reminiscent of the smell of the flowers, which are huge and can be smelled quite far away. I kinda want to try making a gelato or sorbet next time I get a lot, especially with just a few blueberries or such. The flowers/fruit are almost entirely free from the alkaloids of the rest of the cactus.

[@edgarburlyman738]

So it's a dragon fruit but grows on a cactus instead of some huge pita vine thing and costing $10 each, seems like a win.

[@Coldtropics]

There is also of cool opuntia you could try like opuntia tomentosa and opuntia dulcis are very cool. The pads are edible to and flowers.

[@XSpamDragonX]

@WeirdExplorer May I humbly suggest lumpy and chunky instead of mealy to describe semi-smooth soft fruit?

[@robertarthurs328]

Maybe granular fruit ?

[@jareddavies636]

Weird fact. They use the branches from those dragon fruit plants as a base to graft a ball cactus on top of and they will grow as if they were one plant. Usually for sale in plant shops as a cactus but its actually a frankenplant

[@thoomish3556]

I've owned one. Pretty cool looking but more fragile than other cacti.

[@anthonybc]

That sounds cool, I’ll keep a look out. It’s weird what can be used as rootstock sometimes. Especially an epiphite having something grow on it!

[@Erewhon2024]

Cacti in general tend to be graft compatible, which is unusual among plants, which normally have to be in the same genus (and cherries and plums, both in Prunus, aren't usually compatible). Hylocereus (&Pereskiopsis) are often used because they are fast, easy to propagate, and more tolerant of moisture than many of the different cacti often grafted to them. Not cold hardy though, so for outdoor use (beyond the tropics) you'd need a different rootstock.

[@frankmacleod2565]

that is ingenious. Seen thousands of those freak plants for sale.

[@la24dogg21]

​@@frankmacleod2565where ?

[@AwesomeFish12]

cereus cacti are a common garden plant where I live. A lot of people grow them for the decorative flowers and fruits and don't even know they are edible.

[@Sedgewise47]

🤔 How many kinds of *edible* cactus fruits are there? Of those, which are actually farmed? (And which are *merely* “edible” as in “nontoxic”?) 🤷‍♂️Just asking…

[@graylor1]

I inherited a night blooming cereus and it had multiple blooms at the same time this year, so I attempted to make it pollinate itself just to se if anything would happen. I had no idea the fruit might be edible.

[@Yaksoup98]

​@@Sedgewise47like almost all of them

[@RAREDRAGONFRUIT]

Excellent comparison. Try putting them in the refrigerator for a day before eating them. They are better chilled in my opinion. Heading over to Wallace Ranch to decide what varieties to send you next week!!!!! 🐉❤️

[@usmarma9467]

Hello Sir! I'm your fan!

[@jopisperic6232]

Hoces i meni poslati to voće?s obzirom da nikad to nisam probao..

[@safaeit]

There's weirdness among common fruits too, like a type of mango in my grandmas garden taste exactly like papaya (sadly I don’t know what species of mango that is). If you serve someone slices of that mango there's no way he can tell for sure it’s not papaya. The texture is also similar to papaya even has a papaya kinda smell, I was surprised the first time I tasted it.

[@Barakon]

3:56 Pulpy, slimy, juicy, these all sound great! Thanks for letting me know where to get 1 too!

[@noahgreene7282]

These fruits are highly variable and I have some that taste just mildly sweet, one tastes a lot like strawberry kiwi Capri sun. I'm growing out hundreds of cuttings and seedlings of it in Florida as these are hardy to zone 9.

[@wellsbuzzett6479]

Where in FL are you located? I would love to purchase some of the varieties that you have selected in your testings.

[@MorningStarChrist]

With how cacti are typically slimy on the inside I find it more fascinating that the dragon fruit has less of it.

[@waterunderthebridge7950]

I mean with how an apple tree is usually made of wood you also wouldn’t expect the apple to be fibrous, would you?

[@MorningStarChrist]

@@waterunderthebridge7950 Wood has fibers

[@You-dm2eh]

Amazing how different they are yet still look similar

[@1TakoyakiStore]

Oh wow! So that's a relative to what's growing in my yard. The cactus and the fruit that grows from it look very close to this Peruvian Cactus. The only significant difference is that the fruit is much smaller, like between a cherry and plumb in size. It still has the black seeds and the white slimy rind, as well as having those swirls. The difference in taste is that it's sweeter than white dragon fruit, has zero tartness (like lychee), but the pink/red skin has a rose water aftertaste. I would love to know what species it is as well as how to better take care of it (i.e. it grows fruit rarely, and with the Florida rains the fruit it does grow sometimes cause the rind to split the skin.

[@Magmafrost13]

The yellow dragonfruits we sometimes get here in Australia have that same swirly pattern in them

[@JTMusicbox]

Awesome video! Cactus fruits always look so fun. Interesting that this one tastes more like watermelon than the dragon fruits, but mind blowing to learn the skins of both are edible 🤯

[@TheTrueOSSS]

Omg finally a fruit I actually know! We used to grow these in AZ all over. They will take to the desert there very well. It's often hard to get a good harvest because birds will go bananas for the fruit. I recomend cooking it into muffins, the flavor and texture is like a cross between poppy seed, and banana bread, with a hint of cactus. It's also great in fruit salads and can be prepared as a dressing for greens.

[@laurasnow7822]

I’d be curious to see a top 10 fruits by texture. I like your favorite fruits by taste or by strangeness but something just texturally focused would be cool.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Great suggestion

[@user-me7hx8zf9y]

I would like to see this

[@mondayloux2559]

I have a Peruvian apple cactus in my backyard and it's over 12ft tall. The night cereus blooms are beautiful.

[@Cakefangs]

Having eaten a lot of these, it’s best to pick them a couple days before they split, and let them ripen slowly until they are bright pink. At that point the amazing floral aroma and flavor come out strong. If they don’t ripen slowly you’ll miss the aroma which is similar to roses or lilacs

[@manuelromero4408]

The flowers look similar too! Growing a Peruvian apple cactus to cross pollinate with a dragon fruit vine. Dragon fruit plant takes longer to bloom in New York City. Maybe next summer I do the experiment.

[@sawyerstudio]

I was hoping this was going to be related to prickly pear, which is one of my favorites and super underrated. I've never actually tried any dragon fruit, but you've inspired me to find one and try them out!

[@mikella959]

Prickly pear are far better than white dragon fruit and kind of on par with yellow and red dragon fruit

[@antoniomromo]

I love them too. I was super excited when a friend told me that her mom had a kind of cactus whose fruit did not have the thin, fragile, sharp thorns. Unfortunately her mom lives in New Mexico and I'm in northern California. 😢

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

The flavor of this cactus fruit sounds like it has a similar taste to the prickly pear I've found.

[@Erewhon2024]

​@@sinisterthoughts2896The seeds are much less daunting, and no glochids!

[@ronaldowens5025]

I've been growing these for years, refreshing.

[@swashed.]

Should give blueberry cactus a whirl, Myrtillocactus geometrizans Cacti fruits all taste about the same with varying levels of snot

[@SpiritProf]

It’d be great to see some footage of the Peruvian cacti to compare to the dragonfruit cacti, even if it doesn’t grow like an epiphyte. I enjoy seeing the plants they come from, in addition to the fruits.

[@TheGreatPo_Ta_To]

He shows them at 1:06

[@Tefoe]

There are named varieties coming out that are great tasting. We have 3 varieties that do amazing & are tasty. Kiwi is even split resistant. Besweet is like its name.. and peach taste like the candy peach rings.

[@StuffandThings_]

Okay, Jared _needs_ to plan a trip to the Andes. So many obscure fruits growing in extreme environments.

[@BryceGarling]

I grow several varieties of these. My two best varieties have a very sweet floral taste and they are fantastic frozen. Once variety I threw out because it was disgusting.

[@enriquekahn9405]

I am 1000% interested in growing this, thanks for the link!

[@aron8949]

In San Diego dragon fruit does so well growing up the palm washingtonia, it acts as a great trellis the the aerial roots can cling into the palm where dirt and debris form and moisture is even collected during heavy rain. Peruvian apple cactus does so well, they never need water.

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

Sounds like it tastes similar to my experience with prickly pear.

[@waltergolston6187]

mine are sweet and help with a sugar kick. I like them due to the big white flowers that bloom at night and attract moon moths

[@zaneymay]

Interesting. I never thought of it as a weird fruit. I added it to my garden last year, it's still small and hasn't produced fruit yet.

[@FoodwaysDistribution]

Dragon fruit had an affair with some tart out there centuries ago.....

[@machinegunhippy]

You should do an episode of on the Epic San Pedro cactus it also has a fruit that's pretty tasty but even better the mescaline

[@lime4328]

YESSS IVE BEEN WANTING YOU TO REVIEW THIS FOR SO LONG!!!

[@Locut0s]

Amazing the power of convergent evolution to find basically the same designs over and over from different starting points!

[@davidc4162]

They have the same starting point. They're a lot more related than he's making them out to be--they are in the same subfamily, Cactoideae.

[@DTolen]

Its a fruit from the Cereus Genus, they are native from all of South America. Here in Paraguay we had the red pulp ones

[@ValhallaToadplant]

How did I not know the skin was edible?? Agh! These are so so good when they bust open "on the vine" so to speak. The dried texture is almost like marshmallow, sliminess goes down the riper they get and the floral notes go way up! My neighbor has big cactus and the flowers and fruit are so beautiful!

[@MeliponiculturaenCostaRica]

Amazing, it reminds me of a cactus fruit I found this year, the plant is 15m tall even, but if you eat only the flesh it is almost tasteless, you need to eat the rind as well, and it has a soft acid that makes it taste very nice

[@kainpyrovolann4375]

I have these cacti plants here in Florida and they can get tree sized. The fruits are best just before full ripen, because they with have more of a crisp, sort of fluffy texture. And all the flavor is still there

[@Nik-qsb]

Really neat. You taught me persimmon was food as well as tomotillo. It is so much fun watching you do your thing. I would love to see you revisit gak fruit. Would love to see you try to plant your seeds. Thanks for the show and happy season. Much love to you.

[@WeirdExplorer]

thank you! there are two gac episodes and some relatives on gac. Might be more in the future too, it is an interesting one! Old Gac kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGPafJ2kj5mji6c Cooking with Gac kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIbFZ2ttd56roqM Gac Relative kzbin.info/www/bejne/hafPiH2ddtSootE

[@juliecrawshaw-wilson5650]

In Indonesia we normally wouldn't eat dragob fruit on it's own, but rather cube it and mix with other fruits. This enhances the flavour and is delicious.😊

[@alexisamico2921]

My great grandmother had one of these growing in her yard in Florida! It was taller than her house :) I never knew the fruits were edible, but it had so many fruits!

[@Barakon]

The Peruvian apple cactus looks like a fruit that would be common in Ena’s world so…

[@thebluenoble6175]

You actually found it awesome!

[@1erickf50]

There's another non-dragonfruit cactus in Peru: Corryocactus brevistylus, also known as sanky. It's a very tart fruit to the point you may actually use the pulp into "lemonade". We're talking about green lime's levels of tart.

[@maartenbbakkers1200]

this fruit looks more familiar to the inside of a yellow dragon fruit except that the seeds are smaller. The yellow dragon fruit has the same "swirls" and jelly looking inside

[@xbreezybx]

Well hello another fun editing moment snuck in the video. Loved that. Thanks for another cool video!

[@sdfkjgh]

So, a house near mine used to have a bunch of these cacti growing in front of it, and I'd always see the fruit and flowers, but was scared to try the fruit, as I didn't know if it was toxic or not. What I _did_ do was squash the inner flesh of a few of them into a bucket, then spun that bucket back and forth. This caused the flesh to take on a consistancy like the spray-in reinforcing foam you'd find at a hardware store.

[@AmandaOrigo]

Super cool! We weren’t sold on the flavor until the end when you mentioned floral 🤩 that flavor seems to be kind of a rarity and I can’t get enough haha

[@macuahuitlman]

I got three Peruvian apple cacti growing in my room that I'm hoping I'll be able to get fruit from in a few years. They go outside in the warm part of the year and I put them in for the winter.

[@hebneh]

The abundance of seeds in these makes them potentially an invasive plant in some locations since birds will eat the fruits and spread the seeds, which then turn into big spiny things that are a problem sometimes.

[@DeathMetalDerf]

Mainly commenting to appease the almighty algorithm. I hope everyone is well and having a great day.

[@RichardTasgal]

Called kubo in Israel. The kubos available here -- in supermarkets, only occasionally -- tend to have a bit of a stronger flavor than the dragon fruit we find in supermarkets. I like them. Hadn't thought of eating the peel.

[@paloma_hill]

if you follow florida fruit geek he's collecting different varieties of this, and has realized they're very variable and some are much more flavorful than others. he just got a purple fleshed variety in his collection.

[@lemagreengreen]

That is one delicious looking fruit. I have no clue if it truly is but that colour is great.

[@gearsmoke]

I recently tried a little white fruit from a rhipsalis similar to the one at 0:55 - it was sweet, but had a gummy-mucilagey sort of texture not unlike the pulp of a yew berry. Bland, and with a few crunchy little seeds.

[@hebneh]

Actually, dragonfruit and this plant are related since they are both within the Cereus family of cacti. That's why the fruits have strong similarities although the plants they grow on look quite different to most people.

[@RaspK]

Nice video! Definitely a good example of evolutionary convergence; those are always fascinating to check!

[@DanielSPark-by6cm]

These aren't convergent evolution. They just didn't diverge much from their common ancestor even though they are quite far apart in the cactus family tree - most cacti with edible fruits have similarly small seeds with slimy pulp.

[@GustafUNL]

I'm allergic to probably most fruits. So your channel is a good vicarious experience.

[@searose6192]

My dad grows dragon fruit up his fence. It works quite well. I remember my mind was blow when I discovered that dragonfruit cactus was a vine!

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

I have a few apple cactuses that I've been growing. They have not produced any fruit yet. I tried growing dragon fruit but its both too cold and too hot where I live. The apple cactus can tolerate a wider band of temps.

[@stringsofhell]

Love the review! Great job as always!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@philipomandac450]

Can you please go to tropical fruit world i promise it’s gonna be amazing it’s in Australia

[@Mr.Spanky]

I think the sliminess comes from being overripe from my cactus pair experience

[@tt55k]

Pear?

[@macdussy]

It literally looks like a pink mango. I was not expecting it to look like a dragon fruit on the inside. The pattern you were seeing, I’ve also came across with yellow dragon fruits.

[@Rolandais]

Saw a melon at the store yesterday I've never seen before, Limelon, apparantly a "new" type of melon, know anything about it?

[@Rolandais]

@@UCKY5 I'll have to snag one next time I am at that store, love fruits in that sweet/sour space, and a melon there would be grand to add to my options, thanks!

[@dennisdegasEDG]

For future reference, the plural of genus is genera!

[@TheWeirdestOfBugs]

You uploaded this really early!

[@ducknorris233]

Thanks!

[@WeirdExplorer]

thank you!

[@lauraMacKinnon321]

What a very cool fruits you always have. your explanation is always very on point! But now the question is, which of the 2 fruits do you like best?

[@DavidJVMusic]

cool!

[@MrStensnask]

"Melon like" seems to often be used about the flavor of a white dragon fruit. I get a minerally cucumber flavor and very mild sweetness with absolutely no acidity. Very boring to eat but I live in Denmark and a lot of the exotic fruits we get up here have been transported thousands of miles and haven't developed properly and therefore don't taste very strongly. I miss being able to buy dirt cheap lychee fruits on the vine in Cambodia....

[@QuantumRangerPower]

Very fun opening, i enjoyed it!

[@dabigcheezprod]

I tried one recently and while I liked the texture I thought it had a palm-olive like taste.

[@mandab.3180]

looks cool and has a cool name 👍🏻

[@vygalnix7769]

Wow. Beautiful.

[@robyrcmp]

Another great job!

[@NickCombs]

I wonder if the visual similarities are a form of biomimicry to entice similar fauna to spread the seeds.

[@kathleenebsen2659]

I’ve grown a Peruvian apple cactus for several years now. This year, I was so excited because it bloomed. I didn’t realize that the flower only lasts one night. It’s pollinated by bats. I tried to pollinate by hand but too late. Hopefully I will get fruit next year.

[@plutoniumiscool]

You should try saguaro fruit.

[@jordanekl5383]

Something about the shirt choice in this video really pleases me XP

[@benmckinney2941]

I've really wanted to try and grow these.

[@TheFloatingSheep]

Only guy who'll casually compare something to the taste of melon rind.

[@ShellyS2060]

Why are my lights flashing?!?🙂 Beautiful edits in the intro.

[@frankmacleod2565]

great review

[@lexruptor]

It looks and sounds like, A, you got an unripe dragon fruit, and B, the Peruvian Apple is similar to the Yellow dragon fruit. Also, they are, in fact, related, Peruvian Apple Cactus is a Stenocereus, Dragon Fruit are Hylocereus/Selenicereus, you can actually pollinate the Peruvian Apple with Dragon Fruit pollen, although it doesn't work the other way.

[@XMooseManX]

This is my favorite fruit. I eat them all the time in California

[@b1izz79]

That inside appearance is very typical of cactus fruit in general, though I believe most are more slimy like the peruvian apple.

[@isaacthek]

Makes me think of how certain varietals of orange can break apart into pips when you eat them.

[@crescentwuju496]

I have never seen this in the central Lima market. Where are these sold?

[@johngleeman8347]

It's perhaps the only time I've ever tried a fruit before you have Sir. XD

[@johngleeman8347]

Sadly the PAC does not produce fruit at the rate that you would ever see the fruit for sale in a market with any regularity.

[@snakehandler87]

Good stuff

[@BFGUITAR]

I'm so happy you're using a better knife. The butter knife you used in older videos was not appropriate!

[@cherienugent9587]

Yes but they taste better much the same. The dragon trailer in my mesquite tree, it also protects the cactus from the afternoon west sun of south Texas. My Peruvian stand tall in full sun, 20 ft tall. I've eaten 100s of both in the past 17 years. The amount of seeds makes the flesh texture mealy. I wonder if the fruit tastes different when it's grown in its native ground. A bird planted mine. I water it but that's all. The fruit has to ripen on the cactus like a peach. I eat them while I'm mowing the lawn. Only problem is the birds wait for them to ripen, you have be on your toes if you want. My Peruvian produces about 200 apple each time it blooms

[@lasagnahog7695]

It's fun to think about reasons that they look so similar. I wonder if it's straight up mimicry. I can't find much/any info on what animals eat the fruit and disperse the seeds.

[@Erewhon2024]

Cereus fruit unfortunately tends to split when ripe, to make it easier for frugivorous birds and possibly fruit-bats. Bear in mind, the 2 cacti are in different tribes, but both are in the Cactoidea subfamily (as opposed to leafy cacti or Opuntiad monsters with glochids). A lot of cacti have similar fruit.

[@cactusmann5542]

I mean...they are...somewhat closely related. That whole groop of large flowered mostly columnar cacti is somewhat related to eachother as a whole. Less so than other groups. I am talking saguaro relatives, dragon fruit relatives, and san pedro relatives to eachother.

[@notmyname327]

Really interesting!

[@expe808]

I eat mabgo with the skin, usually when its just right ifs nice and chewy

[@deepwaters2334]

Seems like Peru has a lot of delicious edible produce including cherimoya and purple corn.

[@Erewhon2024]

These are usually from south Brazil and Uruguay. "Peru" was from confusion when this was introduced. Peru does have other nice fruit though, and many cacti.

[@elissajaguar]

Best intro ever!!!

[@paulwright8378]

I can see these being grown in the uk an europe what with the heat we have been experiencing probably not spain tho,spain is so hot its on 🔥

[@billybones956]

I think it would be far too wet in the UK to grow cacti. Maybe in the Mediterranean though.

[@paulwright8378]

@@billybones956 my family has greenhouses tho and they need to diversities as there're a small business

[@fractalgem]

Dragonfruit rind is certainly edible, and i don't even mind the taste. The problem is it keeps me AWAKE ALL NIGHT unless i wat it very early in the morning. Which...shouldn't be an issue for most people, i just have a real hard sleeping in the first place.