This jam is made by mashing pink-fleshed dragon fruit with its small black seeds and cooking it briefly; the seeds give it a slight crunch, like those in kiwi jam. Pitaya is mild and lightly sweet, but low in both acid and pectin, so purée cooked on its own will neither set nor develop much flavor. Lemon juice and powdered pectin help the jam set, and the short cooking time preserves its pink color.
Cut the fruit in half lengthwise and scoop the pink flesh out of the peel; do not use the peel in the jam. Dice the flesh and weigh out 500 g.
Coarsely mash the flesh in a pot with a potato masher or fork. Do not blend it; blending removes the jam’s texture and breaks up the seeds.
In a bowl, mix the pectin thoroughly with 50 g sugar. If pectin is added to the purée without first mixing it with sugar, it will clump and will not dissolve.
Sprinkle the pectin-sugar mixture into the purée while stirring. Add the lemon juice and keep stirring as you bring it to a boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, add the remaining sugar. Once it returns to the same boil, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat when a drop placed on a cold plate wrinkles after 1 minute when pushed.
While the jam cooks, wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water, then boil them for 10 minutes. Keep them in hot water until filling. Ladle the hot jam into the hot jars, leaving 0.5–1 cm of headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth and close the jars. For pantry storage, process the sealed jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.
Do not reduce the lemon juice: pitaya is a low-acid fruit, and the lemon helps the jam set and supports safe storage in jars. Light fades the pink color, so store the jars in a dark cupboard and refrigerate them after opening.
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