What to do with 66,000 pounds of surplus dragon fruit?

[asakiyume]

I heard this story on BBC World News, but the online links I could find with the best images were from this Business Insider story by Kate Taylor.

The founder of ABC Bakery in Ho Chi Minh city found that thousands of pounds of red dragon fruit were going unsold out in the Vietnamese countryside because Vietnam had closed its borders with China, the main buyer. So this bakery began buying the fruits and using them in their baked goods:

pink baguettes

(photo: Kate Taylor)

pink buns

(photo: Angela Kao)

and dragon fruit cake!

(photo: Angela Kao)

Here's what red dragon fruit looks like, so you have an idea of where the color comes from:


(image from eBay)

These offerings have been wildly popular, and it's really benefited the local farmers.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

I am so impressed with you! My one try at baguettes came ot misshapen and leathery, in part because i couldn't get the humidities right.

[amaebi]

There is a trick. As well as putting in a pan of hot water, I throw in some ice cubes as I put the bread pan in.